Which College of Western Idaho associate's program has the lowest debt?

Welding and Machining graduates leave with a median of $8,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 9 College of Western Idaho associate's programs that report debt.

How much does College of Western Idaho cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $3,446 a year, and $7,454 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $8,500 a year.

How many College of Western Idaho programs report graduate pay?

10 associate's programs and 7 certificate programs at College of Western Idaho report first-year pay, and 16 of them also report federal debt.

College of Western Idaho Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Nampa, ID
6,459 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

10 College of Western Idaho associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($74,246), and Criminal Justice the least ($28,234). The median program pays $34,103. College of Western Idaho also has 7 certificate programs that report pay.

In-district tuition and fees$3,446Per year. Out-of-state $7,454

Average net price after aid$8,500Per year

All 10 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Idaho" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Idaho. 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 Idaho
1	NursingAbout 46 graduates a year	$74,246	$71,007	$27,790	3rd of 6
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 15 graduates a year	$53,281	Not reported	$13,394	3rd of 4
3	Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$49,508	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
4	Welding and MachiningAbout 22 graduates a year	$40,029	$47,425	$8,000	1st of 1
5	Information TechnologyAbout 37 graduates a year	$35,040	$52,778	$15,028	1st of 1
6	Software and Media ApplicationsAbout 13 graduates a year	$33,165	Not reported	$9,631	1st of 1
7	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 48 graduates a year	$32,413	$36,373	$14,486	4th of 4
8	BusinessAbout 83 graduates a year	$31,455	$48,627	$11,000	1st of 1
9	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 153 graduates a year	$30,424	$42,044	$14,166	3rd of 8
10	Criminal JusticeAbout 35 graduates a year	$28,234	$41,405	$9,261	2nd of 2

Program names link to the program's own page, and Idaho 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 Idaho programs in the field do too.

7 more associate's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

All 7 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Idaho" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Idaho. 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 Idaho
1	Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 19 graduates a year	$48,988	$60,009	$14,770	1st of 1
2	Heavy Equipment MaintenanceAbout 15 graduates a year	$48,524	$61,893	$9,786	1st of 1
3	Criminal JusticeAbout 18 graduates a year	$43,684	Not reported	$5,500	1st of 1
4	Information TechnologyAbout 14 graduates a year	$39,962	$47,172	$15,327	1st of 1
5	Welding and MachiningAbout 112 graduates a year	$39,310	$47,339	$7,000	2nd of 2
6	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 158 graduates a year	$36,676	$50,627	$8,500	2nd of 2
7	Liberal Arts and General StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$31,439	Not reported	$12,000	1st of 1

2 more certificate programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$74,246
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$53,281
Drafting and Design Technology$49,508
Welding and Machining$40,029
Information Technology$35,040

Lowest median debt

Welding and Machining$8,000
Criminal Justice$9,261
Software and Media Applications$9,631
Business$11,000
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$13,394

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 153 graduates a year
BusinessAbout 83 graduates a year
Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 48 graduates a year
NursingAbout 46 graduates a year
Information TechnologyAbout 37 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $74,246 in their first year, the most of 10 College of Western Idaho 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 Idaho 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