Is a Gerontology degree worth it?
Across 9 schools, graduates of Gerontology earn a median $47,812 five years out on $25,000 of debt. Graduates most commonly work as Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists (modeled from the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk). These earnings and debt figures come from the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Median 5-yr pay
$47,812
Median debt
$25,000
Years to pay off
4.3
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
52%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+6.8%
BLS 2024–2034
Net price
$17,755/yr
Debt-test failures
20%
of programs
'Real' premium
−$9,951
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Gerontology in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.