Which information technology certificate program pays the most?

Temple University in Pennsylvania reports the highest first-year pay of the 26 programs ranked here, $81,170.

How much debt do information technology certificate graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $11,543 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 32% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Information Technology (Certificate) Programs in the US

32 programs report first-year pay
1 state ranking
Certificate in Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median information technology certificate program in the US pays its graduates $41,147 in their first year and $48,195 five years after. California is the only state with enough programs to rank, with a median of $45,517. The median program leaves its graduates with $11,543 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$41,147Across 32 programs

Median pay after 5 years$48,195Across 40 programs

Median federal debt$11,543Across 36 programs

Debt-to-earnings32%Across 28 programs

All 26 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	Temple UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · public	$81,170	$83,190	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
2	Penn StateUniversity Park, PA · public	$75,635	$77,517	Not reported	$27,000	36%
3	Champlain CollegeBurlington, VT · private nonprofit	$73,588	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,500	37%
4	American Public University SystemCharles Town, WV · private for-profit	$50,957	Not adjusted	$70,057	$21,950	43%
5	University of PhoenixPhoenix, AZ · private for-profit	$50,255	Not adjusted	$58,644	$12,812	25%
6	Augusta UniversityAugusta, GA · public	$48,303	$50,163	Not reported	$27,917	58%
7	Asher CollegeSacramento, CA · private for-profit	$47,168	$42,601	$56,337	$12,417	26%
8	Charter CollegeAnchorage, AK · private for-profit	$46,466	Not adjusted	$46,201	$14,821	32%
9	MyComputerCareer at ColumbusColumbus, OH · private for-profit	$46,099	Not adjusted	$53,016	$15,833	34%
10	Southern California Institute of TechnologyAnaheim, CA · private for-profit	$45,632	$41,214	$57,082	$10,432	23%
11	Unitek College (Fremont, California)Fremont, CA · private for-profit	$45,517	$41,110	$58,596	$9,403	21%
12	Gwinnett Technical CollegeLawrenceville, GA · public	$43,930	$45,621	$61,447	$22,750	52%
13	MTI CollegeSacramento, CA · private for-profit	$43,827	$39,584	$47,972	$9,500	22%
14	Northcentral Technical CollegeWausau, WI · public	$42,271	$44,924	$54,446	Not reported	Not reported
15	CCI Training Center-ArlingtonArlington, TX · private for-profit	$41,180	$42,429	Not reported	$8,313	20%
16	St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL · public	$41,114	$39,757	Not reported	$12,500	30%
17	College of Western IdahoNampa, ID · public	$39,962	$41,848	$47,172	$15,327	38%
18	Miami Dade CollegeMiami, FL · public	$39,418	$38,117	$54,496	$11,250	29%
19	Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking CountyNewark, OH · public	$38,091	$41,058	Not reported	$7,403	19%
20	Gateway Technical CollegeKenosha, WI · public	$36,389	Not adjusted	Not reported	$12,971	36%
21	Grand Rapids Community CollegeGrand Rapids, MI · public	$36,189	$37,612	$43,026	Not reported	Not reported
22	Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale, VA · public	$34,867	Not adjusted	Not reported	$10,187	29%
23	Mayfield CollegeCathedral City, CA · private for-profit	$29,122	$26,302	$32,333	$9,077	31%
24	Tulsa Technology CenterTulsa, OK · public	$27,061	$30,806	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
25	Western Iowa Tech Community CollegeSioux City, IA · public	$23,745	Not adjusted	Not reported	$8,875	37%
26	Southern Careers Institute-AustinAustin, TX · private for-profit	$22,206	$22,879	$31,668	$7,125	32%

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 18 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 8, 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. 6 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.

Information Technology (Certificate) programs by state

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

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
California	5	$45,517	$9,500

Programs in 15 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

Mayfield College, CA$9,077
Unitek College (Fremont, California), CA$9,403
MTI College, CA$9,500
Southern California Institute of Technology, CA$10,432
Asher College, CA$12,417

Lowest debt for the pay

Unitek College (Fremont, California), CA21%
MTI College, CA22%
Southern California Institute of Technology, CA23%
Asher College, CA26%
Mayfield College, CA31%

Only the 5 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 information technology, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Project Management Specialists

$102,320

Median pay in the US. 1,066,670 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $61,580Top 10%: $167,970

Computer User Support Specialists

$61,860

Median pay in the US. 717,190 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 39,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $40,980Top 10%: $100,540

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

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 information technology certificate program in the US pays its graduates $41,147 in their first year and $48,195 five years after.

Information Technology (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked87 programs by pay and debt Information Technology (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked63 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