Lee 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
- Baytown, TX
- About 374 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Lee College liberal arts and general studies graduates earn more than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $31,916 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $8,476 in federal loans, less than at 75% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying liberal arts and general studies degrees in Texas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Lee College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,957 less than the Texas median. Several Texas programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas 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 12% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $90 a month, or 3.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
90% of graduates (26 of 29) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the Houston area are about 1% below the national average, so a $31,916 salary here buys what about $32,360 buys in a typical US city.
About Lee College
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 3rd of 3 associate's programs at Lee College by first-year earnings. The others are Physical Science Technology ($94,986) and Nursing ($72,164).
Other liberal arts and general studies associate's programs near Baytown
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,916 one year after graduating and $35,763 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Texas is $27,180.
The median federal loan balance is $8,476, which ranks 11th lowest of 46 liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Texas. That works out to about $90 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 27% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 38%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Texas programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 90% (26 of 29) were working in Texas 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 Texas 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