Which state pays computer and information science certificate graduates the most?

Kentucky, where the median program pays its graduates $36,332 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. North Carolina is next, at $36,198.

Highest-Paying Computer and Information Science (Certificate) Programs in the US

Q: Which computer and information science certificate program pays the most?

CSU Global in Colorado reports the highest first-year pay of the 28 programs ranked here, $61,737. Its median federal debt is $27,125.

31 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Certificate in Computer and Information Sciences, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median computer and information science certificate program in the US pays its graduates $37,808 in their first year and $46,328 five years after. Kentucky has the highest state median ($36,332), and North Carolina the lowest ($36,198). The median program leaves its graduates with $11,000 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$37,808Across 31 programs

Median pay after 5 years$46,328Across 24 programs

Median federal debt$11,000Across 31 programs

Debt-to-earnings31%Across 27 programs

All 28 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	CSU GlobalDenver, CO · public	$61,737	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,125	44%
2	University of Nebraska at OmahaOmaha, NE · public	$58,750	$65,203	$77,445	$19,875	34%
3	Salt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake City, UT · public	$57,428	$58,088	Not reported	$11,000	19%
4	Wake Technical Community CollegeRaleigh, NC · public	$55,264	$58,588	Not reported	$14,778	27%
5	Southern Careers Institute-AustinAustin, TX · private for-profit	$52,079	Not adjusted	Not reported	$10,076	19%
6	Northwood Technical CollegeRice Lake, WI · public	$50,239	Not adjusted	Not reported	$10,250	20%
7	Durham Technical Community CollegeDurham, NC · public	$46,966	$49,791	Not reported	$10,208	22%
8	Gateway Community and Technical CollegeFlorence, KY · public	$45,428	$50,387	Not reported	$10,313	23%
9	Front Range Community CollegeWestminster, CO · public	$45,174	$43,836	$51,533	$18,799	42%
10	San Joaquin Valley College-VisaliaVisalia, CA · private for-profit	$42,479	$38,366	Not reported	$8,867	21%
11	Dixie Technical CollegeSaint George, UT · public	$41,631	$42,109	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
12	Jefferson Community and Technical CollegeLouisville, KY · public	$41,543	$46,077	Not reported	$14,082	34%
13	Summit Academy Opportunities Industrialization CenterMinneapolis, MN · private nonprofit	$39,833	$40,390	Not reported	$9,416	24%
14	Maysville Community and Technical CollegeMaysville, KY · public	$39,342	$43,636	Not reported	$10,500	27%
15	Baltimore City Community CollegeBaltimore, MD · public	$38,858	$37,022	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
16	Tarrant County College DistrictFort Worth, TX · public	$37,808	$38,954	$54,842	$12,270	32%
17	Bluegrass Community and Technical CollegeLexington, KY · public	$37,019	$41,060	Not reported	$14,823	40%
18	West Kentucky Community and Technical CollegePaducah, KY · public	$36,332	Not adjusted	Not reported	$10,875	30%
19	Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestown, NC · public	$36,227	$38,406	$46,940	$20,000	55%
20	Ivy Tech Community CollegeIndianapolis, IN · public	$36,178	$38,764	$39,937	$11,885	33%
21	Davidson-Davie Community CollegeThomasville, NC · public	$36,168	$38,344	Not reported	$12,625	35%
22	Owensboro Community and Technical CollegeOwensboro, KY · public	$35,174	$39,013	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
23	Somerset Community CollegeSomerset, KY · public	$34,992	$38,811	Not reported	$9,000	26%
24	Rowan-Cabarrus Community CollegeSalisbury, NC · public	$34,853	$36,950	$43,581	$8,609	25%
25	Madisonville Community CollegeMadisonville, KY · public	$34,207	Not adjusted	Not reported	$13,757	40%
26	Fayetteville Technical Community CollegeFayetteville, NC · public	$32,154	Not adjusted	$45,880	$15,499	48%
27	Bridgerland Technical CollegeLogan, UT · public	$30,139	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
28	Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical CollegeBowling Green, KY · public	$28,568	$31,686	Not reported	$7,010	25%

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 21 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 7, 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. 3 more programs report pay but aren't listed, because College Scorecard's school file doesn't name their schools. The national medians above still count them.

Computer and Information Science (Certificate) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's computer and information science certificate programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Kentucky	9	$36,332	$10,875
North Carolina	6	$36,198	$12,625

Programs in 9 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

Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College, KY$7,010
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, NC$8,609
Somerset Community College, KY$9,000
Durham Technical Community College, NC$10,208
Gateway Community and Technical College, KY$10,313
Maysville Community and Technical College, KY$10,500
West Kentucky Community and Technical College, KY$10,875
Davidson-Davie Community College, NC$12,625
Madisonville Community College, KY$13,757
Jefferson Community and Technical College, KY$14,082

Lowest debt for the pay

Durham Technical Community College, NC22%
Gateway Community and Technical College, KY23%
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College, KY25%
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, NC25%
Somerset Community College, KY26%
Maysville Community and Technical College, KY27%
Wake Technical Community College, NC27%
West Kentucky Community and Technical College, KY30%
Jefferson Community and Technical College, KY34%
Davidson-Davie Community College, NC35%

Only the 14 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 computer and information science, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Software Developers

$135,980

Median pay in the US. 1,687,890 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 95,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $82,460Top 10%: $214,670

Computer and Information Systems Managers

$175,140

Median pay in the US. 670,570 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 16% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $107,550Top 10%: $297,510

Computer Systems Analysts

$105,850

Median pay in the US. 519,530 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $67,340Top 10%: $167,710

Network and Computer Systems Administrators

$99,130

Median pay in the US. 314,340 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $62,640Top 10%: $155,050

Common questions

The median computer and information science certificate program in the US pays its graduates $37,808 in their first year and $46,328 five years after.

Computer and Information Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked402 programs by pay and debt Computer and Information Science (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked69 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