Best Community Colleges in Kansas by Salary Potential

Compare how graduates from five of Kansas’ top two-year colleges compare when ranked by alumni salary.

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RankSchool NameSchool SectorEarly Career Pay
Mid-Career Pay
% High Meaning
% STEM Degrees
Rank:1School Name:Kansas State UniversitySchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$55,700Mid-Career Pay:$80,900% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:20%
Rank:2School Name:Neosho County Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$53,400Mid-Career Pay:$77,800% High Meaning:83%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:3School Name:Newman UniversitySchool Sector:Private not-for-profitEarly Career Pay:$53,700Mid-Career Pay:$76,200% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:11%
Rank:3School Name:Manhattan Area Technical CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$54,600Mid-Career Pay:$76,200% High Meaning:73%% STEM Degrees:3%
Rank:5School Name:Hesston CollegeSchool Sector:Private not-for-profitEarly Career Pay:$52,100Mid-Career Pay:$75,700% High Meaning:60%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:6School Name:Johnson County Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$50,300Mid-Career Pay:$74,400% High Meaning:51%% STEM Degrees:4%
Rank:7School Name:Dodge City Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$49,900Mid-Career Pay:$74,300% High Meaning:78%% STEM Degrees:3%
Rank:7School Name:Northwest Kansas Technical CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$48,200Mid-Career Pay:$74,300% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:2%
Rank:9School Name:Colby Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$48,500Mid-Career Pay:$72,200% High Meaning:65%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:10School Name:Washburn UniversitySchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$47,800Mid-Career Pay:$70,700% High Meaning:62%% STEM Degrees:4%
Rank:11School Name:Baker UniversitySchool Sector:Private not-for-profitEarly Career Pay:$48,300Mid-Career Pay:$70,500% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:3%
Rank:11School Name:Fort Hays State UniversitySchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$46,700Mid-Career Pay:$70,500% High Meaning:67%% STEM Degrees:7%
Rank:13School Name:Labette Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$48,200Mid-Career Pay:$70,300% High Meaning:57%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:14School Name:Pittsburg State UniversitySchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$47,400Mid-Career Pay:$70,200% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:6%
Rank:15School Name:Highland Community College (Kansas)School Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$48,000Mid-Career Pay:$70,000% High Meaning:64%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:16School Name:Kansas City Kansas Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$50,600Mid-Career Pay:$69,200% High Meaning:61%% STEM Degrees:1%
Rank:17School Name:Wichita State UniversitySchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$44,900Mid-Career Pay:$69,100% High Meaning:61%% STEM Degrees:22%
Rank:18School Name:Fort Scott Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$47,000Mid-Career Pay:$69,000% High Meaning:56%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:19School Name:Seward County Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$46,900Mid-Career Pay:$68,500% High Meaning:67%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:20School Name:Barton County Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$45,500Mid-Career Pay:$68,100% High Meaning:63%% STEM Degrees:2%
Rank:21School Name:Cloud County Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$44,300Mid-Career Pay:$67,900% High Meaning:68%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:22School Name:Garden City Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$45,700Mid-Career Pay:$66,900% High Meaning:51%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:23School Name:Pratt Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$46,800Mid-Career Pay:$65,700% High Meaning:85%% STEM Degrees:1%
Rank:24School Name:Hutchinson Community CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$45,500Mid-Career Pay:$65,300% High Meaning:64%% STEM Degrees:1%
Rank:24School Name:Flint Hills Technical CollegeSchool Sector:PublicEarly Career Pay:$47,300Mid-Career Pay:$65,300% High Meaning:51%% STEM Degrees:5%

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College Student

When thinking about which associate degree to pursue, one consideration is which of the 17 career colleges in Kansas have the highest-paid graduates. Payscale presents data on several of the public Kansas community colleges by graduate salary, enabling those seeking degrees in the Sunflower State to make informed decisions about earning potential. In Kansas, the top industries for jobs include agriculture, aerospace, aircraft production and maintenance, and transportation equipment.

Of these colleges, Johnson County Community College is by far the largest, with about 20,000 students. All other Kansas two-year colleges on our list have many fewer enrolled undergraduates. One other interesting factor to note is that Colby and Kansas City Kansas Community College have a majority of female students (about 60 percent), while the other two colleges have a more even split between male and female students.