Which state pays biological and physical sciences associate's graduates the most?

Virginia, where the median program pays its graduates $26,627 in their first year, the highest of 3 state rankings. Illinois is next, at $26,547.

How much debt do biological and physical sciences associate's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $8,639 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 32% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's) Programs in the US

Q: Which biological and physical sciences associate's program pays the most?

Laurel Ridge Community College in Virginia reports the highest first-year pay of the 43 programs ranked here, $37,850. Its median federal debt is $8,400.

43 programs report first-year pay
3 state rankings
Associate's in Biological and Physical Sciences

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median biological and physical sciences associate's program in the US pays its graduates $26,130 in their first year and $48,167 five years after. Virginia has the highest state median ($26,627), and California the lowest ($25,811). The median program leaves its graduates with $8,639 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$26,130Across 43 programs

Median pay after 5 years$48,167Across 71 programs

Median federal debt$8,639Across 48 programs

Debt-to-earnings32%Across 39 programs

All 43 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Laurel Ridge Community CollegeMiddletown, VA · public	$37,850	$37,437	$50,568	$8,400	22%
2	College of Lake CountyGrayslake, IL · public	$37,724	$37,740	$53,615	$7,833	21%
3	Riverside City CollegeRiverside, CA · public	$33,201	$29,986	$50,093	$8,712	26%
4	City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley CollegeChicago, IL · public	$33,115	$33,129	Not reported	$8,250	25%
5	Modesto Junior CollegeModesto, CA · public	$31,960	$28,866	$64,091	$9,036	28%
6	Shasta CollegeRedding, CA · public	$31,415	$28,373	Not reported	$12,324	39%
7	Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk, VA · public	$30,605	$30,271	$41,396	$9,787	32%
8	Joliet Junior CollegeJoliet, IL · public	$30,509	Not adjusted	Not reported	$6,500	21%
9	City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X CollegeChicago, IL · public	$30,203	$30,216	Not reported	$8,965	30%
10	Southwestern Illinois CollegeBelleville, IL · public	$29,678	$29,690	$46,430	$6,196	21%
11	Triton CollegeRiver Grove, IL · public	$29,069	$29,081	$49,478	$10,984	38%
12	American River CollegeSacramento, CA · public	$29,022	$26,212	$49,867	$14,400	50%
13	McHenry County CollegeCrystal Lake, IL · public	$28,614	$28,626	$48,167	$7,500	26%
14	Virginia Western Community CollegeRoanoke, VA · public	$27,786	$27,483	$42,298	$7,334	26%
15	City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington CollegeChicago, IL · public	$27,451	$27,463	Not reported	$8,750	32%
16	Lewis and Clark Community CollegeGodfrey, IL · public	$27,320	$27,331	$46,089	$8,315	30%
17	William Rainey Harper CollegePalatine, IL · public	$27,081	$27,092	$49,656	$8,250	30%
18	City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey CollegeChicago, IL · public	$26,939	$26,950	Not reported	$5,500	20%
19	Victor Valley CollegeVictorville, CA · public	$26,780	$24,187	$69,526	$9,205	34%
20	Parkland CollegeChampaign, IL · public	$26,547	$26,558	$50,169	$8,628	33%
21	Mt San Jacinto Community College DistrictSan Jacinto, CA · public	$26,228	$23,689	Not reported	$6,625	25%
22	City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright CollegeChicago, IL · public	$26,130	$26,141	Not reported	$5,583	21%
23	Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeHampton, VA · public	$25,468	$25,190	$42,149	$10,400	41%
24	Santa Ana CollegeSanta Ana, CA · public	$25,393	$22,934	$47,876	$8,042	32%
25	Cerritos CollegeNorwalk, CA · public	$25,221	$22,779	$61,587	$8,945	35%
26	Waubonsee Community CollegeSugar Grove, IL · public	$24,939	$24,949	$50,683	$8,067	32%
27	Rend Lake CollegeIna, IL · public	$24,444	$24,454	$36,967	Not reported	Not reported
28	City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman CollegeChicago, IL · public	$24,111	$24,121	Not reported	$9,500	39%
29	Kishwaukee CollegeMalta, IL · public	$24,070	$24,080	$46,287	$9,407	39%
30	San Jacinto Community CollegePasadena, TX · public	$23,903	$24,628	$45,037	$9,250	39%
31	East Los Angeles CollegeMonterey Park, CA · public	$23,633	$21,345	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
32	Imperial Valley CollegeImperial, CA · public	$23,311	$21,054	$49,513	Not reported	Not reported
33	Moraine Valley Community CollegePalos Hills, IL · public	$23,128	$23,138	$53,502	$6,500	28%
34	J Sargeant Reynolds Community CollegeRichmond, VA · public	$23,059	$22,807	$42,732	$10,948	47%
35	College of DuPageGlen Ellyn, IL · public	$22,654	$22,664	$38,303	$10,664	47%
36	Morton CollegeCicero, IL · public	$22,435	$22,444	$40,630	$6,000	27%
37	Rock Valley CollegeRockford, IL · public	$21,956	$21,965	$46,438	$6,632	30%
38	Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale, VA · public	$21,923	$21,684	$46,948	$10,500	48%
39	City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King CollegeChicago, IL · public	$21,207	$21,216	Not reported	$9,500	45%
40	Moreno Valley CollegeMoreno Valley, CA · public	$20,108	Not adjusted	$51,136	Not reported	Not reported
41	San Diego Mesa CollegeSan Diego, CA · public	$19,521	$17,631	$61,434	$7,785	40%
42	Hudson County Community CollegeJersey City, NJ · public	$19,269	$17,710	$45,521	$6,128	32%
43	Illinois Valley Community CollegeOglesby, IL · public	$18,345	$18,353	$47,453	$6,363	35%

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 41 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 2, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

4 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's biological and physical sciences associate's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

#	State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Virginia	6	$26,627	$9,787
2	Illinois	23	$26,547	$8,250
3	California	12	$25,811	$8,829

Programs in 2 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College, IL$5,500
City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College, IL$5,583
Morton College, IL$6,000
Southwestern Illinois College, IL$6,196
Illinois Valley Community College, IL$6,363
Joliet Junior College, IL$6,500
Moraine Valley Community College, IL$6,500
Mt San Jacinto Community College District, CA$6,625
Rock Valley College, IL$6,632
Virginia Western Community College, VA$7,334

Lowest debt for the pay

City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College, IL20%
College of Lake County, IL21%
Southwestern Illinois College, IL21%
Joliet Junior College, IL21%
City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College, IL21%
Laurel Ridge Community College, VA22%
City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College, IL25%
Mt San Jacinto Community College District, CA25%
McHenry County College, IL26%
Riverside City College, CA26%

Only the 37 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to biological and physical sciences, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$72,040

Median pay in the US. 1,065,210 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $48,780Top 10%: $107,600

Natural Sciences Managers

$167,220

Median pay in the US. 108,690 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $79,710Top 10%: $316,850

Common questions

The median biological and physical sciences associate's program in the US pays its graduates $26,130 in their first year and $48,167 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024