TEXAS — Federal Data, September 2026
The Best Trade Schools in Texas, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
12 accredited institutions in Texas report enough federal data to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The Texas RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 12 ranked trade schools in Texas, the median graduate needs 4.7 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $12,965, against median earnings of $34,867 one year after completion.
That puts Texas slower than the national median of 3.6 months measured across the 153 institutions in our national ranking. The best performer in the state is Lone Star College System in The Woodlands, at 2.7 months.
Only schools that are currently operating, accredited, predominantly certificate or associate granting, and reporting both debt and earnings on at least four trade programs appear here. That is why this list is short: most institutions do not publish enough for a fair comparison.
TEXAS At A Glance
What the federal data says about trade schools in Texas
The Ranking
12 trade schools in Texas, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lone Star College SystemThe Woodlands, TX | Public | 2.7 | $5,500 | $34,824 | 21% | 4 |
| 2 | Texas State Technical CollegeWaco, TX | Public | 3.3 | $11,000 | $37,697 | 46% | 18 |
| 3 | Austin Community College DistrictAustin, TX | Public | 3.5 | $14,061 | $43,236 | 20% | 10 |
| 4 | Dallas CollegeDallas, TX | Public | 3.7 | $11,863 | $37,079 | 32% | 10 |
| 5 | Lincoln College of Technology-Grand PrairieGrand Prairie, TX | for-profit | 3.8 | $12,780 | $39,014 | 73% | 4 |
| 6 | Miller-Motte College-STVT-ArlingtonArlington, TX | for-profit | 4.3 | $12,570 | $35,204 | 84% | 4 |
| 7 | Miller-Motte College-STVT-Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi, TX | for-profit | 5.0 | $13,000 | $33,756 | 68% | 4 |
| 8 | Miller-Motte College-STVT-San AntonioSan Antonio, TX | for-profit | 5.0 | $13,000 | $33,756 | 69% | 4 |
| 9 | Remington College-Fort Worth CampusNorth Richland Hills, TX | nonprofit | 5.1 | $12,965 | $28,138 | 45% | 4 |
| 10 | Remington College-Dallas CampusDallas, TX | nonprofit | 5.3 | $12,965 | $26,952 | 38% | 7 |
| 11 | Western Technical CollegeEl Paso, TX | for-profit | 7.5 | $21,638 | $34,910 | 72% | 4 |
| 12 | Houston City CollegeHouston, TX | Public | 8.3 | $17,000 | $27,058 | 17% | 8 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers; earnings are median earnings one year after completion; both are medians across the school’s trade programs. Completion is the institution’s published rate.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback schools in Texas, one by one
Lone Star College System
The Woodlands, TX
Lone Star College System is a public institution in The Woodlands. Across its 4 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $5,500 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $34,824 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.7 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 2.0 months faster than the Texas state median of 4.7. It reports a 21% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Precision Metal Working.
Texas State Technical College
Waco, TX
Texas State Technical College is a public institution in Waco. Across its 18 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $11,000 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $37,697 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.3 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.4 months faster than the Texas state median of 4.7. It reports a 46% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Electrical and Power Transmission Installers.
Austin Community College District
Austin, TX
Austin Community College District is a public institution in Austin. Across its 10 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $14,061 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $43,236 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.5 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 1.2 months faster than the Texas state median of 4.7. It reports a 20% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians.
Dallas College
Dallas, TX
Dallas College is a public institution in Dallas. Across its 10 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $11,863 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $37,079 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.7 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 1.0 months faster than the Texas state median of 4.7. It reports a 32% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians.
Lincoln College of Technology-Grand Prairie
Grand Prairie, TX
Lincoln College of Technology-Grand Prairie is a private for-profit institution in Grand Prairie. Across its 4 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $12,780 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $39,014 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.8 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Texas state median of 4.7. It reports a 73% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Precision Metal Working.
Read It Carefully
Why this list is short, and what it does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. Most trade schools in Texas are missing because the Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, not because they scored badly. A small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all.
The measure is also a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing within a state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
By Trade
Or narrow it down to one trade in Texas
For TEXAS School Operators
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