ROI Major

Accounting and Related Services at SUNY at Fredonia

NY · Bachelor's Degree · CIP 52.03

Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Accounting and Related Services degree from SUNY at Fredonia earn a median salary of $67,692 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $51,282. The degree typically pays for itself in 6.8 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 bachelor's graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$51,537

Typical Career

$67,692

Top Performers

$80,487

Estimated break-even: 6.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$451

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,641. Most students can comfortably afford about a $451 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.7x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.9x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in New York buys what costs $1.32 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Bachelor's Graduates from This School Work

Educational Services 27.5%
Health Care & Social Assistance 14.5%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 9.0%

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

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$51,282

Nominal: $67,692 in New York (COL 132.0% of national avg) · 24.2% lower 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).

6.8 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 $36,301 $47,850 $59,393
5 Years After Graduation $51,537 $67,692 $80,487
10 Years After Graduation $56,810 $81,561 $115,993

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 $67,692 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in NY, which has a cost-of-living index of 132.0% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $67,692 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $51,282 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Accounting and Related Services program at SUNY Fredonia experience a positive earnings trajectory over time. One year after graduation, median earnings stand at $47,850, which increases to $67,692 five years later and reaches $81,561 after ten years. When considering purchasing power, the median earnings five years post-graduation, adjusted for cost of living, equate to approximately $51,281.82, reflecting the impact of New York's higher cost of living index of 1.32 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The top industries for graduates include Educational Services (27.5%), Health Care & Social Assistance (14.5%), and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (9.0%). This diverse range of sectors indicates a broad applicability of skills acquired in the program. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 6.8 years compared to a high school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing an accounting degree at SUNY Fredonia appears favorable, particularly for those entering high-demand fields.

AI-assisted editorial analysis based on Census PSEO data. Fact-checked against source data.

Compare with Another School

See how the Accounting and Related Services degree at SUNY at Fredonia stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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.

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