Which Central New Mexico Community College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Welding and Machining graduates leave with a median of $6,440 in federal loans, the lowest among 11 Central New Mexico Community College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Central New Mexico Community College cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $2,060 a year, and $8,684 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $4,621 a year.

How many Central New Mexico Community College programs report graduate pay?

17 associate's programs and 2 certificate programs at Central New Mexico Community College report first-year pay, and 12 of them also report federal debt.

Central New Mexico Community College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Albuquerque, NM
15,203 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

17 Central New Mexico Community College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($74,923), and Cosmetology the least ($16,496). The median program pays $31,256. Central New Mexico Community College also has 2 certificate programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$2,060Per year. Out-of-state $8,684

Average net price after aid$4,621Per year

Graduation rate31%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 17 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in New Mexico" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across New Mexico. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in New Mexico
1	NursingAbout 279 graduates a year	$74,923	$82,031	$14,519	3rd of 8
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 80 graduates a year	$57,486	$62,927	$10,833	1st of 4
3	Welding and MachiningAbout 44 graduates a year	$42,162	$47,419	$6,440	1st of 2
4	AccountingAbout 29 graduates a year	$40,511	$46,256	$10,585	1st of 1
5	Business AdministrationAbout 215 graduates a year	$37,010	$50,103	$9,224	2nd of 3
6	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 21 graduates a year	$36,594	$45,290	Not reported	2nd of 2
7	Criminal JusticeAbout 28 graduates a year	$35,865	$42,545	Not reported	1st of 2
8	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 51 graduates a year	$34,156	$50,387	$9,188	1st of 1
9	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 45 graduates a year	$31,256	$36,367	$9,258	1st of 1
10	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 871 graduates a year	$31,097	$36,972	$6,625	1st of 9
11	Teacher EducationAbout 166 graduates a year	$29,708	$32,694	$9,625	1st of 2
12	CriminologyAbout 65 graduates a year	$28,987	$49,689	Not reported	1st of 1
13	Health SciencesAbout 235 graduates a year	$28,933	$50,448	$8,553	1st of 1
14	Veterinary TechnologyAbout 12 graduates a year	$28,323	$28,402	Not reported	3rd of 3
15	PsychologyAbout 157 graduates a year	$25,675	$36,432	$8,858	1st of 1
16	Culinary ArtsAbout 14 graduates a year	$23,139	$27,803	Not reported	1st of 1
17	CosmetologyAbout 29 graduates a year	$16,496	$24,742	Not reported	1st of 1

Program names link to the program's own page, and New Mexico ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five New Mexico programs in the field do too.

Both certificate programs

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in New Mexico" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across New Mexico.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in New Mexico
Practical NursingAbout 142 graduates a year	$30,137	$43,068	$11,500	2nd of 2
Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 24 graduates a year	$27,816	$35,755	Not reported	1st of 2

One more certificate program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$74,923
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$57,486
Welding and Machining$42,162
Accounting$40,511
Business Administration$37,010

Lowest median debt

Welding and Machining$6,440
Liberal Arts and General Studies$6,625
Health Sciences$8,553
Psychology$8,858
Computer and Information Science$9,188

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 871 graduates a year
NursingAbout 279 graduates a year
Health SciencesAbout 235 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 215 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 166 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $74,923 in their first year, the most of 17 Central New Mexico Community College associate's programs that report pay.

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.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 New Mexico rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels