Federal Data — September 2026
Electrician Trade Schools: What They Cost And What Graduates Earn
Electrician programs are among the strongest financial propositions in US vocational education. Here is what the federal data actually shows, school by school.
See The SchoolsU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 139 US institutions that report both figures, an electrician program leaves $11,000 of median federal debt and produces $39,745 of median earnings one year after completion. That works out at 3.3 months of gross pay to cover the debt, against a national median of 4.7 months across all vocational programs.
Electricians are one of the fastest-growing skilled trades in the country, and the training pays for itself faster than most.
Both routes exist in this field, and they are not equivalent. The certificate leaves $9,500 of median debt against $15,233 for the associate degree, with first-year earnings of $38,674 and $42,041 respectively. On payback the certificate comes out ahead: 3.1 months against 3.9.
The table below ranks the individual schools. Every number is reproduced from the federal files, and the method is the same one behind our payback ranking of 58 programs and our ranking of 153 institutions.
The Numbers
Electrician at a glance
School By School
The 60 electrician programs with the strongest reported outcomes
Filter by state. Click any column heading to sort. Lower is better.
| # | School▲▼ | Credential▲▼ | Months▲▼ | Debt▲▼ | Earnings▲▼ | Completion▲▼ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trinidad State CollegeTrinidad, CO | Certificate | 0.6 | $3,588 | $73,424 | 55% |
| 2 | Northwest Iowa Community CollegeSheldon, IA | Certificate | 0.8 | $5,500 | $78,118 | 58% |
| 3 | Community College of Allegheny CountyPittsburgh, PA | Certificate | 0.9 | $12,000 | $151,803 | 24% |
| 4 | Kennebec Valley Community CollegeFairfield, ME | Certificate | 1.0 | $5,812 | $70,166 | 39% |
| 5 | Spokane Community CollegeSpokane, WA | Certificate | 1.0 | $5,383 | $66,921 | 33% |
| 6 | Mitchell Technical CollegeMitchell, SD | Certificate | 1.1 | $5,500 | $60,565 | 76% |
| 7 | Chippewa Valley Technical CollegeEau Claire, WI | Certificate | 1.1 | $5,500 | $60,950 | 50% |
| 8 | Pratt Community CollegePratt, KS | Certificate | 1.2 | $5,500 | $57,103 | 45% |
| 9 | Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette, MI | Certificate | 1.2 | $5,500 | $53,242 | 52% |
| 10 | East Mississippi Community CollegeScooba, MS | Certificate | 1.2 | $5,500 | $53,950 | 48% |
| 11 | Southwest Wisconsin Technical CollegeFennimore, WI | Certificate | 1.2 | $5,225 | $53,024 | 66% |
| 12 | Pickaway Ross Joint Vocational School DistrictChillicothe, OH | Certificate | 1.2 | $5,500 | $55,317 | 100% |
| 13 | Colorado Mesa UniversityGrand Junction, CO | Certificate | 1.3 | $5,500 | $49,330 | 41% |
| 14 | Elizabethtown Community and Technical CollegeElizabethtown, KY | Associate | 1.3 | $6,950 | $64,748 | 59% |
| 15 | New River Community and Technical CollegeBeaver, WV | Certificate | 1.3 | $5,500 | $50,399 | 36% |
| 16 | Bismarck State CollegeBismarck, ND | Certificate | 1.4 | $5,500 | $48,853 | 47% |
| 17 | Ivy Tech Community CollegeIndianapolis, IN | Associate | 1.5 | $10,262 | $80,734 | 40% |
| 18 | Warren County Career CenterLebanon, OH | Certificate | 1.5 | $8,679 | $70,278 | 77% |
| 19 | Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical CollegeBowling Green, KY | Certificate | 1.6 | $6,999 | $52,553 | 58% |
| 20 | Bismarck State CollegeBismarck, ND | Associate | 1.6 | $7,832 | $57,065 | 47% |
| 21 | Moraine Park Technical CollegeFond du Lac, WI | Certificate | 1.6 | $5,500 | $41,051 | 58% |
| 22 | Owensboro Community and Technical CollegeOwensboro, KY | Associate | 1.6 | $7,338 | $55,533 | 54% |
| 23 | Mid-EastCTC-Adult EducationZanesville, OH | Certificate | 1.6 | $5,500 | $41,432 | 72% |
| 24 | Elizabethtown Community and Technical CollegeElizabethtown, KY | Certificate | 1.7 | $7,422 | $53,855 | 59% |
| 25 | Texas State Technical CollegeWaco, TX | Certificate | 1.7 | $8,177 | $56,597 | 46% |
| 26 | Richmond Community CollegeHamlet, NC | Associate | 1.8 | $11,000 | $73,774 | 46% |
| 27 | Texas State Technical CollegeWaco, TX | Associate | 1.8 | $11,668 | $76,445 | 46% |
| 28 | Emily Griffith Technical CollegeDenver, CO | Certificate | 1.9 | $11,000 | $70,780 | 97% |
| 29 | Marshalltown Community CollegeMarshalltown, IA | Certificate | 1.9 | $6,837 | $43,768 | 42% |
| 30 | Bluegrass Community and Technical CollegeLexington, KY | Certificate | 1.9 | $10,412 | $66,544 | 43% |
| 31 | St Cloud Technical and Community CollegeSaint Cloud, MN | Certificate | 2.0 | $8,250 | $48,478 | 45% |
| 32 | EHOVE Career CenterMilan, OH | Certificate | 2.0 | $6,333 | $37,797 | 96% |
| 33 | Horry-Georgetown Technical CollegeConway, SC | Certificate | 2.0 | $5,500 | $32,356 | 38% |
| 34 | Chattanooga State Community CollegeChattanooga, TN | Certificate | 2.0 | $7,000 | $41,936 | 26% |
| 35 | Owensboro Community and Technical CollegeOwensboro, KY | Certificate | 2.0 | $8,319 | $49,137 | 54% |
| 36 | Augusta Technical CollegeAugusta, GA | Certificate | 2.1 | $11,875 | $67,147 | 31% |
| 37 | West Kentucky Community and Technical CollegePaducah, KY | Certificate | 2.1 | $5,500 | $31,942 | 50% |
| 38 | Dakota County Technical CollegeRosemount, MN | Certificate | 2.1 | $11,000 | $63,839 | 58% |
| 39 | Minnesota State Community and Technical CollegeFergus Falls, MN | Certificate | 2.1 | $8,939 | $50,776 | 47% |
| 40 | Grand Rapids Community CollegeGrand Rapids, MI | Certificate | 2.3 | $6,707 | $34,972 | 21% |
| 41 | Metropolitan Community College AreaOmaha, NE | Associate | 2.3 | $12,350 | $64,751 | 29% |
| 42 | Orleans Technical CollegePhiladelphia, PA | Certificate | 2.3 | $7,521 | $39,139 | 90% |
| 43 | South Louisiana Community CollegeLafayette, LA | Certificate | 2.3 | $7,409 | $38,994 | 30% |
| 44 | Refrigeration School IncPhoenix, AZ | Certificate | 2.4 | $7,125 | $35,084 | 76% |
| 45 | Minnesota West Community and Technical CollegeGranite Falls, MN | Certificate | 2.4 | $10,177 | $51,507 | 52% |
| 46 | Northeast Community CollegeNorfolk, NE | Associate | 2.4 | $12,000 | $59,177 | 56% |
| 47 | Berk Trade and Business SchoolLong Island City, NY | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,333 | $31,116 | 95% |
| 48 | Summit CollegeSan Bernardino, CA | Certificate | 2.4 | $7,600 | $37,990 | 62% |
| 49 | Somerset Community CollegeSomerset, KY | Certificate | 2.5 | $9,500 | $46,259 | 43% |
| 50 | Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk, VA | Certificate | 2.5 | $7,574 | $36,232 | 32% |
| 51 | Adult and Continuing Education-BCTSHackensack, NJ | Certificate | 2.6 | $6,179 | $28,266 | 91% |
| 52 | Thaddeus Stevens College of TechnologyLancaster, PA | Certificate | 2.6 | $8,450 | $39,286 | 71% |
| 53 | Motoring Technical Training InstituteSeekonk, MA | Certificate | 2.6 | $9,500 | $43,145 | 89% |
| 54 | MotoRing Technical Training InstituteEast Providence, RI | Certificate | 2.6 | $9,500 | $43,145 | 95% |
| 55 | HVAC Technical InstituteChicago, IL | Certificate | 2.6 | $6,861 | $32,208 | 86% |
| 56 | Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of TechnologyBoston, MA | Certificate | 2.7 | $8,663 | $38,265 | 46% |
| 57 | State Technical College of MissouriLinn, MO | Associate | 2.7 | $12,000 | $54,080 | 84% |
| 58 | Advanced Training InstituteLas Vegas, NV | Certificate | 2.7 | $7,600 | $33,980 | n/a |
| 59 | Independent Training & Apprenticeship ProgramSacramento, CA | Certificate | 2.7 | $9,500 | $42,896 | 92% |
| 60 | Tulsa Welding School-TulsaTulsa, OK | Certificate | 2.8 | $7,125 | $30,684 | 68% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026), CIP 4603. 139 institutions report this program with both debt and earnings; the 60 with the fastest payback are shown. Debt is median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers; earnings are median earnings one year after completion; completion is the institution’s published rate.
Read It Carefully
What these figures do not tell you
It is a ratio, not a repayment plan
Months of gross pay to cover the debt is a way of comparing programs on one consistent basis. Nobody repays a loan with their entire gross salary.
Local wages move the numbers
The same program pays differently in different labour markets. Use the state filter and compare within a state before comparing across the country.
Only federal loan debt is counted
Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. A school whose students pay out of pocket shows low debt without being cheap.
One year out is an early snapshot
Trades where pay climbs steeply with experience are penalised by a first-year measure. Absence from the table usually means suppressed data, not a poor school.
Go Deeper
The wider picture
Related Reading
Before you choose a program
For School Operators
If you run one of these programs
By State
The same ranking, one state at a time
Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, so comparing programs inside a single state is more informative than comparing across the country. These 8 states have at least three ranked institutions each, covering 59 of the 139 in the national table.
Use This Data
Want your own program’s numbers against this benchmark?
We run this analysis for individual schools, program by program, against their own federal data. Where the answer is good, it is the strongest recruitment argument a school owns, and almost nobody publishes it.
Book Your Free Enrollment AuditBy application only — reserved for trade and vocational school operators enrolling 50+ students a year.