Which biology associate's program pays the most?

Union Adventist University in Nebraska reports the highest first-year pay of the 15 programs ranked here, $74,593. Its median federal debt is $30,875.

How much debt do biology associate's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $10,061 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 38% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Biology (Associate's) Programs in the US

15 programs report first-year pay
1 state ranking
Associate's in Biology, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median biology associate's program in the US pays its graduates $26,835 in their first year and $42,237 five years after. Texas is the only state with enough programs to rank, with a median of $27,813. The median program leaves its graduates with $10,061 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$26,835Across 15 programs

Median pay after 5 years$42,237Across 30 programs

Median federal debt$10,061Across 31 programs

Debt-to-earnings38%Across 15 programs

All 15 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	Union Adventist UniversityLincoln, NE · private nonprofit	$74,593	Not adjusted	Not reported	$30,875	41%
2	St Philip's CollegeSan Antonio, TX · public	$35,699	$36,781	Not reported	$12,718	36%
3	Austin Community College DistrictAustin, TX · public	$34,560	$35,608	$56,234	$13,375	39%
4	Reedley CollegeReedley, CA · public	$30,520	$27,565	$49,703	$6,500	21%
5	Northwest Vista CollegeSan Antonio, TX · public	$28,923	$29,800	$41,429	$10,708	37%
6	South Texas CollegeMcAllen, TX · public	$28,791	$29,664	$34,637	$6,602	23%
7	Mott Community CollegeFlint, MI · public	$28,480	$29,600	$44,663	$13,250	47%
8	San Antonio CollegeSan Antonio, TX · public	$26,835	$27,649	$51,392	$9,500	35%
9	Kingsborough Community CollegeBrooklyn, NY · public	$26,171	$24,250	$36,720	$9,241	35%
10	Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester CampusSewell, NJ · public	$25,026	$23,001	$44,084	$9,500	38%
11	Houston City CollegeHouston, TX · public	$24,621	$25,368	Not reported	$11,005	45%
12	Fresno City CollegeFresno, CA · public	$22,741	$20,539	$47,717	$6,625	29%
13	Texas State Technical CollegeWaco, TX · public	$21,288	$21,934	$37,230	$10,913	51%
14	El Paso Community CollegeEl Paso, TX · public	$17,314	$17,839	$36,028	$9,000	52%
15	San Diego Miramar CollegeSan Diego, CA · public	$15,731	Not adjusted	$53,218	$6,500	41%

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 13 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.

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

Biology (Associate's) programs by state

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

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Texas	8	$27,813	$10,811

Programs in 5 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

South Texas College, TX$6,602
El Paso Community College, TX$9,000
San Antonio College, TX$9,500
Northwest Vista College, TX$10,708
Texas State Technical College, TX$10,913
Houston City College, TX$11,005
St Philip's College, TX$12,718
Austin Community College District, TX$13,375

Lowest debt for the pay

South Texas College, TX23%
San Antonio College, TX35%
St Philip's College, TX36%
Northwest Vista College, TX37%
Austin Community College District, TX39%
Houston City College, TX45%
Texas State Technical College, TX51%
El Paso Community College, TX52%

Only the 8 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 biology, 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

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$103,410

Median pay in the US. 172,340 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,800Top 10%: $177,780

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

Biological Technicians

$57,510

Median pay in the US. 69,620 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $40,330Top 10%: $84,940

Common questions

The median biology associate's program in the US pays its graduates $26,835 in their first year and $42,237 five years after.

Biology (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked795 programs by pay and debt

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