Program Payoff

Education, General: what it pays, state by state

45 states teach this at certificate or associate level. The work pays most in California, at a median of $111,850 a year.

StateWhat the work paysSchoolsReporting earnings
California$111,850150
Louisiana$83,71070
New York$82,02070
District of Columbia$80,81010
Connecticut$80,62020
Rhode Island$80,03010
Massachusetts$79,98050
Michigan$79,91090
Minnesota$78,95090
Nebraska$78,95020
Maryland$78,820150
Arizona$78,52050
New Jersey$77,60090
Utah$77,09040
Virginia$77,06020
Maine$77,05070
Washington$75,17040
Pennsylvania$74,910100
Wisconsin$74,79030
Arkansas$74,50020
Nevada$74,24010
Oregon$73,88090
Tennessee$72,390130
Montana$70,32080
North Carolina$70,05040
Texas$68,280160
Colorado$66,87010
South Carolina$66,69030
Wyoming$66,35010
Indiana$66,15040
Missouri$65,91080
Idaho$65,72010
New Mexico$64,830190
Florida$63,64050
West Virginia$63,27050
Kansas$63,01060
Georgia$62,51030
Ohio$62,40070
Iowa$62,09010
Mississippi$61,86020
Illinois$61,56030
Kentucky$61,45020
Oklahoma$60,88040
New Hampshire$49,25090
Delaware10

A dash under earnings or debt means the U.S. Department of Education has not published a figure for that program — it withholds any median computed from too few graduates, which covers about four of every five programs. It never means zero, and it says nothing about whether the program is any good. Where a figure is shown, the number of graduates behind it is shown with it.

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Programs: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, released 2026-06-10. Occupation wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.