Which Houston City College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Biology graduates leave with a median of $11,005 in federal loans, the lowest among 16 Houston City College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Houston City College cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $2,040 a year, and $5,460 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $5,737 a year.

How many Houston City College programs report graduate pay?

19 associate's programs and 10 certificate programs at Houston City College report first-year pay, and 24 of them also report federal debt.

Houston City College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Houston, TX
40,503 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

19 Houston City College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Diagnostic and Treatment Professions pays the most in the first year ($67,098), and Cosmetology the least ($15,372). The median program pays $42,459. Houston City College also has 10 certificate programs that report pay.

In-district tuition and fees$2,040Per year. Out-of-state $5,460

Average net price after aid$5,737Per year

Graduation rate17%Within 6 years

All 19 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Texas" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Texas. 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 Texas
1	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 75 graduates a year	$67,098	$81,939	$16,975	4th of 36
2	NursingAbout 153 graduates a year	$66,743	$101,897	$18,770	39th of 49
3	Engineering ScienceAbout 65 graduates a year	$61,518	$73,244	$17,814	1st of 1
4	Physical Science TechnologyAbout 39 graduates a year	$60,612	$63,218	$21,740	3rd of 12
5	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 12 graduates a year	$56,005	$64,875	Not reported	5th of 11
6	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 16 graduates a year	$48,172	Not reported	$16,250	4th of 5
7	Mining and Petroleum TechnologyAbout 13 graduates a year	$47,146	$44,842	$31,138	1st of 1
8	Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 28 graduates a year	$45,548	$55,016	$12,040	2nd of 3
9	Computer NetworkingAbout 89 graduates a year	$42,875	Not reported	$18,862	2nd of 6
10	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 46 graduates a year	$42,459	$56,067	$24,562	12th of 20
11	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 30 graduates a year	$39,835	Not reported	Not reported	6th of 12
12	Office AdministrationAbout 32 graduates a year	$35,300	$42,965	$37,503	1st of 2
13	Business AdministrationAbout 864 graduates a year	$34,732	$46,026	$16,045	9th of 19
14	AccountingAbout 41 graduates a year	$34,447	$40,274	$18,749	3rd of 5
15	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 1,775 graduates a year	$29,423	$45,840	$17,106	16th of 47
16	Culinary ArtsAbout 52 graduates a year	$26,419	$22,509	$26,217	5th of 6
17	BiologyAbout 582 graduates a year	$24,621	Not reported	$11,005	6th of 8
18	Graphic CommunicationsAbout 44 graduates a year	$16,155	$39,213	Not reported	2nd of 2
19	CosmetologyAbout 37 graduates a year	$15,372	$21,810	$31,123	1st of 2

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

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

All 10 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Texas" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Texas. 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 Texas
1	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 92 graduates a year	$64,648	$76,949	$14,249	4th of 18
2	Criminal JusticeAbout 81 graduates a year	$56,454	$56,987	$13,925	6th of 15
3	Fire ScienceAbout 29 graduates a year	$39,283	$51,611	Not reported	4th of 5
4	Office AdministrationAbout 43 graduates a year	$37,482	$35,246	$18,797	1st of 4
5	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 66 graduates a year	$37,377	Not reported	Not reported	8th of 16
6	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 127 graduates a year	$35,469	$37,840	$16,035	1st of 23
7	AccountingAbout 50 graduates a year	$34,667	Not reported	$14,905	3rd of 5
8	Welding and MachiningAbout 89 graduates a year	$27,696	$39,000	$10,022	15th of 20
9	HVACAbout 17 graduates a year	$26,250	Not reported	$19,000	8th of 9
10	CosmetologyAbout 84 graduates a year	$16,777	$16,802	$14,999	36th of 78

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

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$67,098
Nursing$66,743
Engineering Science$61,518
Physical Science Technology$60,612
Dental Hygiene and Assisting$56,005

Lowest median debt

Biology$11,005
Drafting and Design Technology$12,040
Business Administration$16,045
Medical Laboratory Science$16,250
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$16,975

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 1,775 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 864 graduates a year
BiologyAbout 582 graduates a year
NursingAbout 153 graduates a year
Computer NetworkingAbout 89 graduates a year

Common questions

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions graduates earn a median of $67,098 in their first year, the most of 19 Houston City 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 Texas 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