MINNESOTA — Federal Data, September 2026
The Best Trade Schools in Minnesota, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
9 accredited institutions in Minnesota 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 Minnesota RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 9 ranked trade schools in Minnesota, the median graduate needs 3.0 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $12,000, against median earnings of $49,636 one year after completion.
That puts Minnesota faster than the national median of 3.6 months measured across the 153 institutions in our national ranking. The best performer in the state is Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, at 2.5 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 That is why this list is short: most institutions do not publish enough for a fair comparison.
MINNESOTA At A Glance
What the federal data says about trade schools in Minnesota
The Ranking
9 trade schools in Minnesota, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dakota County Technical CollegeRosemount, MN | Public | 2.5 | $12,000 | $52,341 | 58% | 6 |
| 2 | Minnesota State Community and Technical CollegeFergus Falls, MN | Public | 2.7 | $10,169 | $46,285 | 47% | 5 |
| 3 | Alexandria Technical & Community CollegeAlexandria, MN | Public | 2.8 | $12,000 | $52,748 | 60% | 6 |
| 4 | St Cloud Technical and Community CollegeSaint Cloud, MN | Public | 2.8 | $11,500 | $49,636 | 45% | 7 |
| 5 | Minnesota West Community and Technical CollegeGranite Falls, MN | Public | 3.0 | $9,838 | $43,444 | 52% | 4 |
| 6 | Hennepin Technical CollegeBrooklyn Park, MN | Public | 3.3 | $16,356 | $56,386 | 42% | 8 |
| 7 | Ridgewater CollegeWillmar, MN | Public | 3.3 | $10,291 | $41,211 | 50% | 6 |
| 8 | Dunwoody College of TechnologyMinneapolis, MN | nonprofit | 3.5 | $14,785 | $51,538 | 66% | 8 |
| 9 | Saint Paul CollegeSaint Paul, MN | Public | 3.6 | $12,000 | $39,770 | 40% | 5 |
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 Minnesota, one by one
Dakota County Technical College
Rosemount, MN
Dakota County Technical College is a public institution in Rosemount. Across its 6 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $12,000 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $52,341 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.5 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 0.5 months faster than the Minnesota state median of 3.0. It reports a 58% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Precision Metal Working.
Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Fergus Falls, MN
Minnesota State Community and Technical College is a public institution in Fergus Falls. Across its 5 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $10,169 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $46,285 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.3 months faster than the Minnesota state median of 3.0. It reports a 47% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR).
Alexandria Technical & Community College
Alexandria, MN
Alexandria Technical & Community College is a public institution in Alexandria. Across its 6 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $12,000 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $52,748 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.8 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 3.0. It reports a 60% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians.
St Cloud Technical and Community College
Saint Cloud, MN
St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public institution in Saint Cloud. Across its 7 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $11,500 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $49,636 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.8 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 3.0. It reports a 45% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Electrical and Power Transmission Installers.
Minnesota West Community and Technical College
Granite Falls, MN
Minnesota West Community and Technical College is a public institution in Granite Falls. Across its 4 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $9,838 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $43,444 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.0 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 3.0. It reports a 52% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Electrical and Power Transmission Installers.
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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota
For MINNESOTA School Operators
Want to know how your school ranks, program by program?
We run this analysis for individual schools against their own federal data and show them where they sit against both the Minnesota median and the national one. Where the answer is good, it is the strongest recruitment argument a school owns.
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