ROI Major

Agricultural Production Operations at Ohio State University (The)

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 01.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Agricultural Production Operations degree from Ohio State University (The) earn a median salary of $39,477 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $43,815. The degree typically pays for itself in 29.9 years.

Quick Insights

Slow Burn / High Debt Risk

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

$28,536

Typical Career

$39,477

Top Performers

$53,994

Estimated break-even: 29.9 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$263

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,290. Most students can comfortably afford about a $263 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Ohio buys what costs $0.90 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Educational Services 18.9%
Health Care & Social Assistance 12.9%
Retail Trade 8.5%

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

$43,815

Nominal: $39,477 in Ohio (COL 90.1% of national avg) · 11% 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).

29.9 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 $24,556 $32,729 $44,026
5 Years After Graduation $28,536 $39,477 $53,994
10 Years After Graduation $34,421 $46,093 $62,075

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 $39,477 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in OH, which has a cost-of-living index of 90.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $39,477 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $43,815 National Average equivalent.

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

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See how the Agricultural Production Operations degree at Ohio State University (The) stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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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.