WELDING SCHOOLS IN LOUISIANA — Federal Data, September 2026
Welding Schools in Louisiana, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
6 accredited institutions in Louisiana 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 6 ranked programs in Louisiana, the median graduate needs 4.2 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $9,208, against median earnings of $25,776 one year after completion.
That is slower 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 South Louisiana Community College in Lafayette, at 2.9 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Louisiana institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about welding schools in Louisiana
The Ranking
6 welding schools in Louisiana, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Louisiana Community CollegeLafayette, LA | Public | Certificate | 2.9 | $6,125 | $25,471 | 30% |
| 2 | Compass Career CollegeHammond, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 3.6 | $7,790 | $25,735 | 59% |
| 3 | Louisiana Delta Community CollegeMonroe, LA | Public | Certificate | 3.6 | $7,916 | $26,069 | 30% |
| 4 | Northshore Technical Community CollegeLacombe, LA | Public | Certificate | 4.9 | $10,500 | $25,818 | 40% |
| 5 | Baton Rouge Community CollegeBaton Rouge, LA | Public | Certificate | 6.5 | $13,000 | $24,025 | 31% |
| 6 | Delgado Community CollegeNew Orleans, LA | Public | Certificate | 6.7 | $18,137 | $32,636 | 24% |
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 Louisiana, one by one
South Louisiana Community College
Lafayette, LA
South Louisiana Community College is a public institution in Lafayette. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,125 and report median earnings of $25,471 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.9 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.3 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 4.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 30% completion rate.
Compass Career College
Hammond, LA
Compass Career College is a private for-profit institution in Hammond. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,790 and report median earnings of $25,735 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.6 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 4.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 59% completion rate.
Louisiana Delta Community College
Monroe, LA
Louisiana Delta Community College is a public institution in Monroe. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,916 and report median earnings of $26,069 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.6 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 4.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 30% completion rate.
Northshore Technical Community College
Lacombe, LA
Northshore Technical Community College is a public institution in Lacombe. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,500 and report median earnings of $25,818 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.9 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.7 months slower than the Louisiana state median of 4.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 40% completion rate.
Baton Rouge Community College
Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge Community College is a public institution in Baton Rouge. Its welding graduates leave with a median federal debt of $13,000 and report median earnings of $24,025 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 6.5 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 2.3 months slower than the Louisiana state median of 4.2. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 31% 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 Louisiana
Comparing a different trade in Louisiana
For LOUISIANA School Operators
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