Cuyahoga Community College District Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
  • Public college
  • Cleveland, OH
  • About 1,036 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Cuyahoga Community College District liberal arts and general studies graduates earn about what liberal arts and general studies graduates earn nationally, $28,760 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $11,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $10,864. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$28,76066th percentile of 728 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$40,29240% more than year one
Median federal debt$11,0002nd lowest of 19 Ohio programs
Debt-to-earnings38%Ohio median 46%, national 38%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Ohio and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies associate's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Cuyahoga Community College District graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Ohio median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio liberal arts and general studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Ohio medians.

Cuyahoga Community College DistrictOther Ohio programs

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 40% between the first and fifth year.

Cuyahoga Community College District grads, year 1$28,760
Cuyahoga Community College District grads, year 5$40,292
All Ohio liberal arts and general studies grads, year 5$40,189

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $1,395 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$28,338Median debt $12,000
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$29,733Median debt $8,250

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $117 a month, or 4.9% 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. Separately, 117 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $12,413.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

93% of graduates (391 of 421) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Cleveland area are about 6% below the national average, so a $28,760 salary here buys what about $30,621 buys in a typical US city.

About Cuyahoga Community College District

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 14th of 16 associate's programs at Cuyahoga Community College District by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($62,630), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($52,018), and Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($49,218).

Other liberal arts and general studies associate's programs near Cleveland

Common questions

The median graduate earns $28,760 one year after graduating and $40,292 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Ohio is $31,870.

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 Ohio 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 liberal arts and general studies program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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