ROI Major

Health and Medical Administrative Services at Oakton College

IL · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.07

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Health and Medical Administrative Services degree from Oakton College earn a median salary of $65,092 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $70,906. The degree typically pays for itself in 7 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$55,558

Typical Career

$65,092

Top Performers

$81,133

Estimated break-even: 7 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$434

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,424. Most students can comfortably afford about a $434 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.7x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.8x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Retail Trade, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 37.9%
Retail Trade 7.8%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 7.7%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$70,906

Nominal: $65,092 in Illinois (COL 91.8% of national avg) · 8.9% higher purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

7 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $41,928 $52,354 $62,368
5 Years After Graduation $55,558 $65,092 $81,133
10 Years After Graduation $59,550 $70,584 $99,879

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $65,092 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IL, which has a cost-of-living index of 91.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $65,092 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $70,906 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Health and Medical Administrative Services program at Oakton College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. One year after graduation, median earnings are reported at $41,264, which increases to $51,967 five years post-graduation and reaches $59,253 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings five years after graduation equate to approximately $56,608.93 nationally, indicating that graduates can maintain a competitive salary relative to the cost of living.

The program primarily prepares students for careers in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, which accounts for 38.0% of graduates, followed closely by another 37.9% entering the same field, and 17.4% moving into Public Administration. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 11.4 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing this degree appears favorable, particularly given the strong demand in the health care sector.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.