ROI Major

Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Saint Charles Community College

MO · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.08

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services degree from Saint Charles Community College earn a median salary of $47,939 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in MO, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $53,743. The degree typically pays for itself in 19.9 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

$35,899

Typical Career

$47,939

Top Performers

$59,848

Estimated break-even: 19.9 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$320

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,995. Most students can comfortably afford about a $320 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.2x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Missouri buys what costs $0.89 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 25.5%
Retail Trade 9.4%
Educational Services 9.1%

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

$53,743

Nominal: $47,939 in Missouri (COL 89.2% of national avg) · 12.1% 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).

19.9 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 $28,265 $37,794 $47,338
5 Years After Graduation $35,899 $47,939 $59,848
10 Years After Graduation $35,528 $47,802 $66,251

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 $47,939 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in MO, which has a cost-of-living index of 89.2% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $47,939 × (1.0 ÷ 0.8920) = $53,743 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services program at Saint Charles Community College can expect a steady earnings trajectory. One year after graduation, median earnings are reported at $37,794.00, which increases to $47,939.00 after five years. However, by the ten-year mark, earnings slightly decrease to $47,802.00. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent is approximately $53,743.27, indicating that while initial earnings show growth, long-term financial stability may require careful consideration of inflation and cost of living.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, comprising 59.5% of placements, followed by additional roles in the same sector at 25.5% and Finance & Insurance at 23.7%. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 19.9 years, suggesting that while the program offers a pathway to higher earnings, the return on investment may take nearly two decades to realize fully. This data underscores the importance of evaluating both immediate and long-term career outcomes in the decision-making process.

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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.