Highest Graduate Earnings at Community Colleges
A two-year degree in the right field can pay as well as many bachelor’s degrees. This ranking sorts two-year colleges by median earnings of former students four years after they completed an associate degree or certificate, adjusted to 2024 dollars.
Of the 412 two-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates and a published earnings figure, we show the top 50. The median is $49,399, the top figure is $112,190 and the 50th school is at $57,487. SUNY Westchester Community College ranks first, and California has the most entries with 18. The median net price for qualifying schools is $8,013.
Earnings at two-year colleges are heavily shaped by high-wage programs such as nursing and skilled trades, and by local labor markets. Some of the highest figures belong to schools with small cohorts, so use the profile to check programs.
If you are weighing a two-year degree against a bachelor’s, compare these figures with the four-year earnings ranking and read our guide to choosing between community college and a four-year school.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All 2-year colleges
- Ranked by earnings after 4 years, highest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported earnings after 4 years value (schools without one are not ranked)
- Data period
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing the top 50 of 412 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | SUNY Westchester Community College Valhalla, NY Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $112,190 | $9,373 | — | 24% | 8,078 |
| 2 | Contra Costa College San Pablo, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $95,545 | $9,490 | — | 30% | 5,203 |
| 3 | St Paul's School of Nursing-Queens Rego Park, NY For-profit · 2-year · Open admission | $94,468 | $26,315 | $25,730 | 47% | 1,056 |
| 4 | Jersey College Teterboro, NJ For-profit · 2-year | $88,785 | $52,558 | $21,000 | 39% | 4,478 |
| 5 | St Paul's School of Nursing-Staten Island Staten Island, NY For-profit · 2-year · Open admission | $84,341 | $35,666 | $25,729 | 35% | 656 |
| 6 | AMG School of Nursing Brooklyn, NY For-profit · 2-year · Open admission | $77,330 | $34,613 | $14,167 | 76% | 552 |
| 7 | Evergreen Valley College San Jose, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission | $74,506 | $12,414 | $13,219 | 42% | 7,688 |
| 8 | American River College Sacramento, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $74,069 | $7,999 | $9,625 | 35% | 25,621 |
| 9 | Napa Valley College Napa, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $71,587 | $14,644 | — | 37% | 3,813 |
| 10 | Honolulu Community College Honolulu, HI Public · 2-year · Open admission | $71,254 | $7,458 | $7,534 | 30% | 1,897 |
| 11 | College of San Mateo San Mateo, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $69,861 | $536 | — | 59% | 7,977 |
| 12 | ITI Technical College Baton Rouge, LA For-profit · 2-year · Open admission | $67,004 | $20,850 | $15,006 | 57% | 555 |
| 13 | Canada College Redwood City, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $65,945 | $32 | — | 48% | 5,175 |
| 14 | Coastline Community College Fountain Valley, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $64,396 | $16,341 | $8,250 | 30% | 7,393 |
| 15 | Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $63,514 | $11,315 | $11,000 | 34% | 9,889 |
| 16 | Los Angeles Harbor College Wilmington, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $63,483 | $13,250 | — | 36% | 6,694 |
| 17 | Yuba College Marysville, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $63,022 | $2,576 | — | 36% | 4,779 |
| 18 | College of Marin Kentfield, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission | $62,664 | $12,351 | $10,062 | 38% | 4,042 |
| 19 | Prince George's Community College Largo, MD Public · 2-year · Open admission | $62,100 | $8,672 | $10,500 | 22% | 8,815 |
| 20 | Victoria College Victoria, TX Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $61,363 | $3,043 | $10,500 | 27% | 2,351 |
| 21 | New Mexico Junior College Hobbs, NM Public · 2-year · Open admission | $60,987 | $6,524 | $11,313 | 42% | 2,175 |
| 22 | Community College of Baltimore County Baltimore, MD Public · 2-year · Open admission | $60,930 | $9,844 | $11,528 | 17% | 13,872 |
| 23 | Northwest Iowa Community College Sheldon, IA Public · 2-year · Open admission | $60,885 | $14,800 | $9,500 | 57% | 864 |
| 24 | Central Texas College Killeen, TX Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $60,854 | $10,265 | $6,750 | 13% | 6,247 |
| 25 | Lake Region State College Devils Lake, ND Public · 2-year · Open admission | $60,667 | $13,577 | $10,293 | 51% | 611 |
| 26 | Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations West Palm Beach, FL Private nonprofit · 2-year · Open admission | $60,657 | $30,381 | $20,293 | 49% | 558 |
| 27 | North Dakota State College of Science Wahpeton, ND Public · 2-year · Open admission | $60,587 | $11,261 | $12,000 | 52% | 1,909 |
| 28 | North Hennepin Community College Brooklyn Park, MN Public · 2-year · Open admission | $60,483 | $12,186 | $14,750 | 19% | 3,451 |
| 29 | Roxbury Community College Roxbury Crossing, MA Public · 2-year · Open admission | $60,232 | $12,244 | — | 17% | 1,977 |
| 30 | El Camino Community College District Torrance, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $60,046 | $5,968 | — | 39% | 19,210 |
| 31 | Dyersburg State Community College Dyersburg, TN Public · 2-year · Open admission | $59,696 | $4,612 | $6,900 | 31% | 2,103 |
| 32 | Los Medanos College Pittsburg, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $59,523 | $7,443 | — | 40% | 7,320 |
| 33 | Dakota County Technical College Rosemount, MN Public · 2-year · Open admission | $59,518 | $13,548 | $11,000 | 52% | 2,168 |
| 34 | Alexandria Technical & Community College Alexandria, MN Public · 2-year · Open admission | $59,377 | $13,691 | $12,000 | 60% | 1,533 |
| 35 | Mendocino College Ukiah, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $59,296 | $8,330 | $10,836 | 28% | 2,870 |
| 36 | Grossmont College El Cajon, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $59,215 | $5,311 | — | 34% | 12,163 |
| 37 | Folsom Lake College Folsom, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission | $58,876 | $5,975 | — | 42% | 9,414 |
| 38 | Trident Technical College Charleston, SC Public · 2-year · Open admission | $58,783 | $1,406 | $13,029 | 29% | 10,512 |
| 39 | St Cloud Technical and Community College Saint Cloud, MN Public · 2-year · Open admission | $58,691 | $9,635 | $12,000 | 44% | 3,113 |
| 40 | Kirtland Community College Grayling, MI Public · 2-year · Open admission | $58,673 | $7,456 | $13,067 | 30% | 1,023 |
| 41 | State Technical College of Missouri Linn, MO Public · 2-year · Open admission | $58,407 | $15,190 | $10,986 | 82% | 2,123 |
| 42 | Universal Technical Institute of Arizona Inc Avondale, AZ For-profit · 2-year · Open admission | $58,404 | $30,451 | $13,124 | 67% | 1,957 |
| 43 | Howard Community College Columbia, MD Public · 2-year · Open admission | $57,920 | $11,133 | $10,500 | 25% | 6,649 |
| 44 | West Shore Community College Scottville, MI Public · 2-year · Open admission | $57,908 | $1,527 | $9,089 | 29% | 782 |
| 45 | San Jose City College San Jose, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $57,895 | $16,959 | — | 33% | 7,105 |
| 46 | Durham Technical Community College Durham, NC Public · 2-year · Open admission | $57,868 | $1,664 | $14,750 | 40% | 3,890 |
| 47 | Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Lancaster, PA Public · 2-year | $57,788 | $14,104 | $9,990 | 65% | 1,446 |
| 48 | Lake Superior College Duluth, MN Public · 2-year · Open admission | $57,665 | $15,492 | $12,775 | 40% | 2,471 |
| 49 | Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA Public · 2-year · Open admission · Hispanic-Serving | $57,487 | $9,919 | $11,000 | 35% | 33,048 |
| 50 | College of the Siskiyous Weed, CA Public · 2-year · Open admission | $57,487 | $11,120 | $10,750 | 32% | 1,190 |
States with schools on this list
Browse every college in these states.