Which Essex County College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Social Sciences graduates leave with a median of $5,851 in federal loans, the lowest among 6 Essex County College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Essex County College cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $5,415 a year, and $9,523 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $4,436 a year.

How many Essex County College programs report graduate pay?

10 associate's programs and one certificate program at Essex County College report first-year pay, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

Essex County College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Newark, NJ
5,855 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

10 Essex County College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($70,500), and Social Sciences the least ($22,053). The median program pays $30,467. Essex County College also has one certificate program that reports pay.

In-district tuition and fees$5,415Per year. Out-of-state $9,523

Average net price after aid$4,436Per year

Graduation rate20%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 10 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in New Jersey" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across New Jersey. 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 Jersey
1	NursingAbout 35 graduates a year	$70,500	$98,404	$20,430	15th of 17
2	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 23 graduates a year	$54,592	$61,219	$25,125	1st of 7
3	Ophthalmic and Optometric ServicesAbout 10 graduates a year	$37,740	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
4	Business AdministrationAbout 140 graduates a year	$32,638	$52,619	$6,625	8th of 13
5	Criminal JusticeAbout 50 graduates a year	$31,908	$44,582	Not reported	3rd of 12
6	AccountingAbout 29 graduates a year	$29,026	$44,577	Not reported	1st of 2
7	Pre-Health StudiesAbout 202 graduates a year	$26,596	$44,612	$9,499	2nd of 2
8	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 182 graduates a year	$25,792	$32,934	$7,302	8th of 19
9	Teacher EducationAbout 38 graduates a year	$23,768	$33,841	Not reported	1st of 2
10	Social SciencesAbout 81 graduates a year	$22,053	$36,237	$5,851	2nd of 2

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

One certificate program

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

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in New Jersey
Practical NursingAbout 11 graduates a year	$62,448	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 12

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$70,500
Allied Health and Medical Assisting$54,592
Ophthalmic and Optometric Services$37,740
Business Administration$32,638
Criminal Justice$31,908

Lowest median debt

Social Sciences$5,851
Business Administration$6,625
Liberal Arts and General Studies$7,302
Pre-Health Studies$9,499
Nursing$20,430

Largest programs

Pre-Health StudiesAbout 202 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 182 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 140 graduates a year
Social SciencesAbout 81 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 50 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $70,500 in their first year, the most of 10 Essex County 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 Jersey 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