Jefferson Community College 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
- Watertown, NY
- About 128 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Jefferson Community College liberal arts and general studies graduates earn less than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $23,245 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $12,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $10,864. Several New York programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Jefferson Community College graduates earn about the national figure and about $1,997 more than the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.
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 78% between the first and fifth year.
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 more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $127 a month, or 6.6% 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, 29 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $9,346.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
86% of graduates (91 of 106) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the Watertown area are about 12% below the national average, so a $23,245 salary here buys what about $26,508 buys in a typical US city.
About Jefferson Community College
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 5th of 6 associate's programs at Jefferson Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($77,313), Criminal Justice ($34,219), and Human Development and Family Studies ($27,397).
Other liberal arts and general studies associate's programs near Watertown
Common questions
The median graduate earns $23,245 one year after graduating and $41,458 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in New York is $23,613.
The median federal loan balance is $12,000, which ranks 34th lowest of 42 liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in New York. That works out to about $127 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 52% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 38%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
Most do. 86% (91 of 106) were working in New York one year after graduating.
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 New York 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
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024