Best Community Colleges & 2-Year Degree Programs by Salary Potential
PayScale has ranked hundreds of two-year colleges by how much their alumni go on to earn. Find out which schools produce the highest-paid graduates.
| Rank | School Name | School Sector | Early Career Pay | Mid-Career Pay | % High Meaning | % STEM Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | School Name: Helene Fuld College of Nursing | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$72,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$95,600 | % High Meaning:81% | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:2 | School Name: Laboure College | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$68,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$90,800 | % High Meaning:87% | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:3 | School Name: Pacific Union College | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$64,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$89,200 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:8% |
| Rank:4 | School Name: Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$61,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$85,800 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:5 | School Name: Belanger School of Nursing | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$61,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$85,600 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:6 | School Name: Loma Linda University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$63,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$85,300 | % High Meaning:80% | % STEM Degrees:3% |
| Rank:7 | School Name:_50px.png) New York University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$61,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$83,900 | % High Meaning:69% | % STEM Degrees:23% |
| Rank:8 | School Name:The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$59,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$82,700 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:9 | School Name: Bellevue College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$52,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$81,900 | % High Meaning:57% | % STEM Degrees:13% |
| Rank:10 | School Name:Colorado Northwestern Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$58,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$81,100 | % High Meaning:63% | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:11 | School Name:Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$58,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$80,700 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:11 | School Name: Mount Saint Mary's University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$60,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$80,700 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:3% |
| Rank:13 | School Name: Fashion Institute of Technology | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$48,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$80,600 | % High Meaning:37% | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:14 | School Name: St. John's University-New York | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$51,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$80,300 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:10% |
| Rank:15 | School Name: Excelsior College | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$61,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$80,200 | % High Meaning:75% | % STEM Degrees:2% |
| Rank:16 | School Name:College of San Mateo | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$55,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$79,900 | % High Meaning:62% | % STEM Degrees:15% |
| Rank:17 | School Name: Saddleback College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$47,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$79,800 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:3% |
| Rank:18 | School Name:Evergreen Valley College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$52,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$79,700 | % High Meaning:65% | % STEM Degrees:9% |
| Rank:19 | School Name:Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$54,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$79,600 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:14% |
| Rank:20 | School Name: Worldwide_50px.png) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$53,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$79,400 | % High Meaning:73% | % STEM Degrees:11% |
| Rank:21 | School Name: De Anza College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$54,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$79,200 | % High Meaning:61% | % STEM Degrees:10% |
| Rank:22 | School Name: Rivier University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$57,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$78,900 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:8% |
| Rank:23 | School Name: Villanova University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$55,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$78,700 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:21% |
| Rank:24 | School Name: Pace University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$52,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$78,600 | % High Meaning:65% | % STEM Degrees:14% |
| Rank:25 | School Name:Diablo Valley College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$49,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$78,500 | % High Meaning:58% | % STEM Degrees:17% |
You don’t have to get a bachelor’s degree to have a successful career. In fact, there are lots of high-paying, meaningful jobs that you can land with an associate degree. To help you make a smart choice about where you should earn an associate degree, Payscale has ranked schools that grant associate degrees in this year’s College Salary Report. You can compare the salaries for workers with zero-to-five and 10-or-more years of experience who graduated from a wide variety of schools, including public community colleges, private career colleges, for-profit schools, not-for-profit schools, and colleges and universities that offer associate degrees in addition to bachelor’s degree programs.
In general, public community colleges produce the highest earners. If you are looking for an affordable education, that’s a good thing – community colleges are usually the most affordable way to get a college education whether you want an AA or want to transfer to a four-year school.