Which Erie Community College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Culinary Arts graduates leave with a median of $6,439 in federal loans, the lowest among 11 Erie Community College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Erie Community College cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $6,100 a year, and $11,300 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $7,765 a year.

How many Erie Community College programs report graduate pay?

15 associate's programs and 5 certificate programs at Erie Community College report first-year pay, and 14 of them also report federal debt.

Erie Community College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Buffalo, NY
6,099 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

15 Erie Community College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($69,885), and Culinary Arts the least ($15,793). The median program pays $34,484. Erie Community College also has 5 certificate programs that report pay.

In-district tuition and fees$6,100Per year. Out-of-state $11,300

Average net price after aid$7,765Per year

Graduation rate28%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 15 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in New York" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across New York. 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 York
1	NursingAbout 44 graduates a year	$69,885	$82,563	$20,152	34th of 45
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 16 graduates a year	$58,695	$62,908	$17,268	11th of 22
3	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 26 graduates a year	$51,215	Not reported	$18,737	11th of 11
4	Construction Finishing and InspectionAbout 21 graduates a year	$44,535	$46,747	$8,710	1st of 1
5	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 34 graduates a year	$43,237	Not reported	$11,000	5th of 11
6	Electronics RepairGraduates a year not reported	$39,218	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 2
7	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 25 graduates a year	$35,253	$56,462	$12,000	2nd of 6
8	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 5 graduates a year	$34,484	$49,513	$17,717	9th of 14
9	Criminal JusticeAbout 70 graduates a year	$33,340	$45,590	$8,750	10th of 34
10	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 21 graduates a year	$32,890	Not reported	Not reported	14th of 25
11	Business AdministrationAbout 116 graduates a year	$31,224	$44,221	$10,300	14th of 32
12	Ophthalmic and Optometric ServicesAbout 8 graduates a year	$26,746	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 2
13	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 18 graduates a year	$25,239	$28,719	Not reported	4th of 4
14	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 235 graduates a year	$23,608	$35,615	$10,090	24th of 46
15	Culinary ArtsAbout 11 graduates a year	$15,793	Not reported	$6,439	6th of 6

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

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

All 5 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in New York" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across New York. 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 York
1	Criminal JusticeAbout 39 graduates a year	$70,012	$76,162	$17,125	2nd of 5
2	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 17 graduates a year	$30,938	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 7
3	Electromechanical TechnologyAbout 55 graduates a year	$29,929	Not reported	$5,677	1st of 1
4	HVACAbout 31 graduates a year	$29,804	$56,738	$6,500	3rd of 3
5	Culinary ArtsAbout 6 graduates a year	$15,337	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 2

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$69,885
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$58,695
Dental Hygiene and Assisting$51,215
Construction Finishing and Inspection$44,535
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair$43,237

Lowest median debt

Culinary Arts$6,439
Construction Finishing and Inspection$8,710
Criminal Justice$8,750
Liberal Arts and General Studies$10,090
Business Administration$10,300

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 235 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 116 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 70 graduates a year
NursingAbout 44 graduates a year
Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 34 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $69,885 in their first year, the most of 15 Erie 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 York 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