WELDING SCHOOLS IN OHIO — Federal Data, September 2026
Welding Schools in Ohio, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
11 accredited institutions in Ohio report enough federal data on this program 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 RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 11 ranked programs in Ohio, the median graduate needs 2.4 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $7,667, against median earnings of $38,717 one year after completion.
That is faster than the national median of 3.0 months for this field, measured across the 208 institutions in our national welding schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy, at 1.5 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Ohio institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about welding schools in Ohio
The Ranking
11 welding schools in Ohio, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hobart Institute of Welding TechnologyTroy, OH | nonprofit | Certificate | 1.5 | $5,500 | $45,370 | 90% |
| 2 | Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking CountyNewark, OH | Public | Certificate | 1.7 | $5,500 | $38,709 | 79% |
| 3 | Butler Technology and Career Development SchoolsMonroe, OH | Public | Certificate | 1.8 | $6,327 | $42,625 | 76% |
| 4 | Great Oaks Career CampusesCincinnati, OH | Public | Certificate | 1.8 | $6,078 | $41,277 | 90% |
| 5 | Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical SchoolsGroveport, OH | Public | Certificate | 2.0 | $6,485 | $39,328 | 81% |
| 6 | Ohio Technical CollegeCleveland, OH | for-profit | Associate | 2.4 | $7,667 | $38,861 | 90% |
| 7 | Elite Welding Academy LLCCincinnati, OH | for-profit | Certificate | 2.9 | $9,500 | $38,717 | 89% |
| 8 | Elite Welding Academy South PointSouth Point, OH | for-profit | Certificate | 2.9 | $9,500 | $38,717 | 71% |
| 9 | Fortis College-CincinnatiCincinnati, OH | for-profit | Certificate | 4.9 | $13,000 | $31,899 | 50% |
| 10 | Stautzenberger College-MaumeeMaumee, OH | for-profit | Certificate | 5.1 | $13,000 | $30,807 | 55% |
| 11 | ETI Technical College of NilesNiles, OH | for-profit | Certificate | 5.4 | $12,255 | $27,290 | 62% |
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 in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in Ohio, one by one
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology
Troy, OH
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology is a private nonprofit institution in Troy. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $5,500 and report median earnings of $45,370 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.5 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Ohio state median of 2.4. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 90% completion rate.
Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County
Newark, OH
Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County is a public institution in Newark. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $5,500 and report median earnings of $38,709 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.7 months faster than the Ohio state median of 2.4. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 79% completion rate.
Butler Technology and Career Development Schools
Monroe, OH
Butler Technology and Career Development Schools is a public institution in Monroe. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,327 and report median earnings of $42,625 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.8 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Ohio state median of 2.4. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 76% completion rate.
Great Oaks Career Campuses
Cincinnati, OH
Great Oaks Career Campuses is a public institution in Cincinnati. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,078 and report median earnings of $41,277 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.8 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Ohio state median of 2.4. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 90% completion rate.
Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools
Groveport, OH
Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools is a public institution in Groveport. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,485 and report median earnings of $39,328 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.0 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.4 months faster than the Ohio state median of 2.4. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 81% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is 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 inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other Programs in Ohio
Comparing a different trade in Ohio
For OHIO School Operators
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