PENNSYLVANIA — Federal Data, September 2026
The Best Trade Schools in Pennsylvania, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
9 accredited institutions in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 9 ranked trade schools in Pennsylvania, the median graduate needs 3.9 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $11,261, against median earnings of $37,792 one year after completion.
That puts Pennsylvania 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 Orleans Technical College in Philadelphia, at 2.4 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 That is why this list is short: most institutions do not publish enough for a fair comparison.
PENNSYLVANIA At A Glance
What the federal data says about trade schools in Pennsylvania
The Ranking
9 trade schools in Pennsylvania, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orleans Technical CollegePhiladelphia, PA | nonprofit | 2.4 | $7,521 | $37,848 | 90% | 5 |
| 2 | Thaddeus Stevens College of TechnologyLancaster, PA | Public | 2.8 | $10,277 | $38,796 | 71% | 8 |
| 3 | New Castle School of TradesNew Castle, PA | for-profit | 3.7 | $10,700 | $37,792 | 76% | 8 |
| 4 | Rosedale Technical CollegePittsburgh, PA | nonprofit | 3.8 | $12,000 | $41,619 | 81% | 6 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania College of TechnologyWilliamsport, PA | Public | 3.9 | $14,750 | $47,953 | 53% | 12 |
| 6 | Pennco Tech-BristolBristol, PA | for-profit | 4.1 | $10,200 | $33,494 | 84% | 5 |
| 7 | Erie Institute of Technology IncErie, PA | for-profit | 4.5 | $11,261 | $31,986 | 67% | 4 |
| 8 | YTI Career Institute-YorkYork, PA | for-profit | 5.8 | $16,829 | $36,634 | 45% | 7 |
| 9 | Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute-AllentownAllentown, PA | for-profit | 7.1 | $20,493 | $34,166 | 83% | 4 |
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 Pennsylvania, one by one
Orleans Technical College
Philadelphia, PA
Orleans Technical College is a private nonprofit institution in Philadelphia. Across its 5 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $7,521 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $37,848 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.4 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.5 months faster than the Pennsylvania state median of 3.9. It reports a 90% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Electrical and Power Transmission Installers.
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology
Lancaster, PA
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is a public institution in Lancaster. Across its 8 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $10,277 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $38,796 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.8 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.1 months faster than the Pennsylvania state median of 3.9. It reports a 71% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Carpenters.
New Castle School of Trades
New Castle, PA
New Castle School of Trades is a private for-profit institution in New Castle. Across its 8 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $10,700 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $37,792 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.7 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and right on the Pennsylvania state median of 3.9. It reports a 76% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Ground Transportation.
Rosedale Technical College
Pittsburgh, PA
Rosedale Technical College is a private nonprofit institution in Pittsburgh. Across its 6 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $12,000 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $41,619 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.8 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and right on the Pennsylvania state median of 3.9. It reports a 81% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Ground Transportation.
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Williamsport, PA
Pennsylvania College of Technology is a public institution in Williamsport. Across its 12 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $14,750 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $47,953 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.9 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and right on the Pennsylvania state median of 3.9. It reports a 53% 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
For PENNSYLVANIA School Operators
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