Austin Community College District Psychology (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Psychology, General
- Public college
- Austin, TX
- About 159 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Austin Community College District psychology graduates earn more than graduates of most psychology programs nationally, $29,930 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $13,956 in federal loans, close to the national median of $11,099. It is one of the higher-paying psychology degrees in Texas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all psychology associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Austin Community College District graduates earn about the national figure and about $2,109 more than the Texas median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas psychology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 25% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $148 a month, or 5.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
98% of graduates (40 of 41) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the Austin area are about 2% below the national average, so a $29,930 salary here buys what about $30,520 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
$83,660Median pay in Texas. 3,640 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$58,070Median pay in Texas. 1,180 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
$139,520Median pay in Texas. 40 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Austin Community College District
Psychology ranks 29th of 32 associate's programs at Austin Community College District by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($68,125), Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($60,475), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($59,770).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $29,930 one year after graduating and $37,449 five years after. The median across psychology associate's programs in Texas is $25,656.
The median federal loan balance is $13,956, which ranks 3rd lowest of 6 psychology associate's programs in Texas. That works out to about $148 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 47% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. Compare the cost with other Texas programs before deciding.
Most do. 98% (40 of 41) were working in Texas one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Texas comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the psychology program.
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
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024