These Are The Junior Colleges With The Highest Earning Graduates In Each State

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Prospective college students have a lot to consider when they’re deciding on what college to attend. Graduation rates, academic quality, housing, campus, location, amenities — all of these get brought up at one point or another as people make the transition into the university system.

But as important as these other factors tend to be, any conversation about the worth of a college education inevitably turns to how much money that education enables a person to make once they’ve finally graduated and gotten themselves a job.

This got us thinking — from which colleges in the US were working alumni making the most money?

Using the information found on the IPEDS database, we created our own list of the best college to attend in each state for alumni salaries.

The full list can be found further down, but first, here’s a quick top ten.

Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health
Cochran School of Nursing
Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing
Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics
Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions
Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Highlands College of Montana Tech
Lamar Institute of Technology
Riverside School of Health Careers
Carolinas College of Health Sciences

How We Did It

Using information found on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database, we searched for the junior college in each state with the highest incomes for graduated students.

We looked at median earnings six and ten years after they graduated — we wanted to have at least two time intervals to track in order to have a wider spread of data to consider. Following this, we averaged median incomes six- and ten-years out and ranked each stateâs top school, which got us our final list.

And as a reminder, each college on our list has to take the top place in its state to make the rankings.

Does your state make the top ten? Read on to the full list to find out.

1. Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health

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Average Earnings: $80,700
Location: Los Angeles, CA
College Description: A community college owned by and located in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health provides educational opportunities to LA County residents within the healthcare field. With average alumni earnings of $80,700, this school easily takes the top spot on our list.

2. Cochran School of Nursing

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Average Earnings: $79,800
Location: Yonkers, NY
College Description: Founded in Yonkers, NY, in 1894, Cochran School of Nursing is the second healthcare-based junior college to grace our list. The school itself is housed within St. John’s Riverside hospital and its commitment to helping its students is evident in its alumni’s average earnings of $79,800.

3. Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing

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Average Earnings: $63,450
Location: Medford, MA
College Description: Another health care-related school, Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing is based in the city of Medford, MA, a relatively small town from which the Gypsy Moth originally spread as an invasive species after being brought into the country by an amateur entomologist. The school itself is based out of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and its alumni make an average of $63,450.

4. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics

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Average Earnings: $52,200
Location: West Mifflin, PA
College Description: The aviation technology school known as the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics is actually technically located outside of Pittsburgh, within the town of West Mifflin. The school offers a variety of courses on the design, maintenance, and operation of aviation technologies, which might account for its alumni’s average earnings of $52,200.

5. Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions

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Average Earnings: $49,800
Location: Lewiston, ME
College Description: Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions is the fourth healthcare-related school on our list, this one dedicated to helping its students learn interpersonal skills as well as healthcare skills in order to help them succeed in the workplace — a success that shows, given the average alumni earnings of $49,800.

6. Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences

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Average Earnings: $48,750
Location: Cape Girardeau, MO
College Description: Yet another healthcare college, Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences is an educator of numerous nurses and healthcare providers in a number of different specializations. The college focuses its curriculum on fostering its students’ professional growth, which shows in the average alumni’s earnings of $48,750.

7. Highlands College of Montana Tech

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Average Earnings: $46,800
Location: Butte, MT
College Description: A small school located in the beautiful countryside of Montana, Highlands College of Montana Tech offers degrees in fields such as business and accounting, health programs, and practical trades. Alumni clearly make quick use of these skills in the real world, given their average earnings of $46,800.

8. Lamar Institute of Technology

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Average Earnings: $46,600
Location: Beaumont, TX
College Description: Lamar Institute of Technology is a school designed with the purpose of educating its students with hard job skills in mind. Offering financial aid opportunities and a diverse amount of programs including subjects such as accounting technology, computer systems, and dental hygiene, Lamar Institute of Technology is an excellent choice for those looking for schools in the state of Texas.

9. Riverside School of Health Careers

Source

Average Earnings: $45,450
Location: Newport News, VA
College Description: Beginning as a community-founded hospital in the early 1900s, Riverside School of Health Careers is a healthcare education school and non-profit organization based in Newport News, VA. With an average alumnus earning $45,450, the skills and experience Riverside offers to its students are clearly being put to good work.

10. Carolinas College of Health Sciences

Source

Average Earnings: $45,250
Location: Charlotte, NC
College Description: A small school with big hospital resources, Carolinas College of Health Sciences is a healthcare-focused college teaching everyone from nurses to specialists like radiation therapists. The average alumni make $45,250, showing that there’s a lot more to Charlotte, NC, than just the big schools like UNC-Charlotte.

Wrapping Up

You’ll find our extended list below, but there’s more to see here at Zippia.

Are you a recent college graduate on the hunt for a job? Find out how to respond when an interviewer asks you to tell them about a time that you failed.

Or are you looking for more articles like this one? Check out which tech companies are the best to work for in Austin, TX.

Ranking	Institute Name	City	State Abbr.	Median Earnings 10 Years	Median Earnings 6 Years	Average Earnings
1	Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health	Los Angeles	CA	$82,400	$79,000	$80,700
2	Cochran School of Nursing	Yonkers	NY	$87,200	$72,400	$79,800
3	Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing	Medford	MA	$63,300	$63,600	$63,450
4	Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics	West Mifflin	PA	$56,800	$47,600	$52,200
5	Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions	Lewiston	ME	$53,200	$46,400	$49,800
6	Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences	Cape Girardeau	MO	$45,900	$51,600	$48,750
7	Highlands College of Montana Tech	Butte	MT	$51,600	$42,000	$46,800
8	Lamar Institute of Technology	Beaumont	TX	$57,000	$36,200	$46,600
9	Riverside School of Health Careers	Newport News	VA	$47,000	$43,900	$45,450
10	Carolinas College of Health Sciences	Charlotte	NC	$47,400	$43,100	$45,250
11	Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture	Curtis	NE	$49,800	$37,300	$43,550
12	St Joseph School of Nursing	Nashua	NH	$43,400	$42,900	$43,150
13	Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute	Wooster	OH	$48,600	$37,500	$43,050
14	North Dakota State College of Science	Wahpeton	ND	$46,200	$38,900	$42,550
15	Marion Military Institute	Marion	AL	$53,000	$30,300	$41,650
16	Northwest Iowa Community College	Sheldon	IA	$41,800	$40,200	$41,000
17	Chandler-Gilbert Community College	Chandler	AZ	$45,600	$34,900	$40,250
18	Mitchell Technical Institute	Mitchell	SD	$42,400	$37,800	$40,100
19	Shoreline Community College	Shoreline	WA	$44,900	$35,200	$40,050
20	Morrison Institute of Technology	Morrison	IL	$43,800	$35,600	$39,700
21	Montgomery College	Rockville	MD	$44,400	$33,600	$39,000
22	Colorado Northwestern Community College	Rangely	CO	$43,600	$34,200	$38,900
23	Manhattan Area Technical College	Manhattan	KS	$39,500	$38,000	$38,750
24	Inver Hills Community College	Inver Grove Heights	MN	$41,500	$36,000	$38,750
25	AVTEC-Alaska’s Institute of Technology	Seward	AK	$41,400	$35,900	$38,650
26	County College of Morris	Randolph	NJ	$42,900	$32,600	$37,750
27	New Mexico Military Institute	Roswell	NM	$41,900	$31,900	$36,900
28	Salt Lake Community College	Salt Lake City	UT	$41,200	$32,000	$36,600
29	Kapiolani Community College	Honolulu	HI	$39,000	$33,900	$36,450
30	SOWELA Technical Community College	Lake Charles	LA	$35,800	$36,400	$36,100
31	Casper College	Casper	WY	$38,900	$32,500	$35,700
32	Redlands Community College	El Reno	OK	$39,600	$31,400	$35,500
33	Waukesha County Technical College	Pewaukee	WI	$39,600	$30,900	$35,250
34	Naugatuck Valley Community College	Waterbury	CT	$37,600	$31,100	$34,350
35	Tillamook Bay Community College	Tillamook	OR	$37,700	$30,700	$34,200
36	Truckee Meadows Community College	Reno	NV	$37,200	$30,800	$34,000
37	Delaware Technical Community College-Stanton/Wilmington	Wilmington	DE	$36,500	$31,400	$33,950
38	Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations	West Palm Beach	FL	$33,600	$32,600	$33,100
39	NorthWest Arkansas Community College	Bentonville	AR	$36,100	$29,900	$33,000
40	Gwinnett Technical College	Lawrenceville	GA	$37,500	$28,100	$32,800
41	University of South Carolina-Sumter	Sumter	SC	$34,900	$27,800	$31,350
42	Schoolcraft College	Livonia	MI	$34,600	$27,700	$31,150
43	Volunteer State Community College	Gallatin	TN	$32,400	$27,900	$30,150
44	Pearl River Community College	Poplarville	MS	$33,300	$26,600	$29,950
45	Community College of Rhode Island	Warwick	RI	$33,400	$26,500	$29,950
46	North Idaho College	Coeur d’Alene	ID	$32,500	$26,800	$29,650
47	Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College	Bowling Green	KY	$31,200	$27,800	$29,500
48	Ivy Tech Community College	Indianapolis	IN	$30,900	$27,300	$29,100
49	Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College	Mount Gay	WV	$30,600	$25,300	$27,950
50	Community College of Vermont	Winooski	VT	$28,400	$24,900	$26,650

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Ryan Morris

Ryan Morris was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog who tried to make the job process a little more entertaining for all those involved. He obtained his BA and Masters from Appalachian State University.

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