Which Lone Star College System associate's program has the lowest debt?

Business graduates leave with a median of $7,954 in federal loans, the lowest among 9 Lone Star College System associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Lone Star College System cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $3,330 a year, and $9,390 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $11,252 a year.

How many Lone Star College System programs report graduate pay?

13 associate's programs and 11 certificate programs at Lone Star College System report first-year pay, and 18 of them also report federal debt.

Lone Star College System Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
The Woodlands, TX
45,188 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

13 Lone Star College System associate's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($77,795), and Teacher Education the least ($20,236). The median program pays $38,202. Lone Star College System also has 11 certificate programs that report pay.

In-district tuition and fees$3,330Per year. Out-of-state $9,390

Average net price after aid$11,252Per year

Graduation rate21%Within 6 years

All 13 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	NursingAbout 334 graduates a year	$77,795	$86,053	$15,000	10th of 49
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 157 graduates a year	$58,408	$67,117	$10,926	14th of 36
3	Physical Science TechnologyAbout 46 graduates a year	$53,976	Not reported	Not reported	7th of 12
4	Business AdministrationAbout 180 graduates a year	$41,126	$44,318	$17,170	3rd of 19
5	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 157 graduates a year	$39,224	$50,620	$12,500	2nd of 5
6	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 71 graduates a year	$38,534	$53,961	$14,000	16th of 20
7	Veterinary TechnologyAbout 14 graduates a year	$38,202	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 3
8	Criminal JusticeAbout 178 graduates a year	$37,578	$44,374	$10,542	2nd of 18
9	Industrial TechnologyAbout 70 graduates a year	$36,567	$57,377	Not reported	2nd of 2
10	BusinessAbout 495 graduates a year	$32,376	$56,073	$7,954	6th of 12
11	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 5,788 graduates a year	$27,180	$45,987	$9,689	24th of 47
12	Instructional DesignAbout 88 graduates a year	$24,321	$27,565	Not reported	1st of 1
13	Teacher EducationAbout 257 graduates a year	$20,236	$54,605	$8,479	8th of 13

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.

One more associate's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

All 11 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 135 graduates a year	$69,820	$80,106	$11,234	2nd of 18
2	Practical NursingAbout 48 graduates a year	$51,028	$67,662	$13,323	7th of 37
3	Industrial TechnologyAbout 154 graduates a year	$43,602	$54,088	Not reported	2nd of 2
4	Welding and MachiningAbout 280 graduates a year	$40,863	$31,599	$4,562	4th of 20
5	Veterinary TechnologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$38,101	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 2
6	Business AdministrationAbout 413 graduates a year	$37,686	$43,575	$10,015	3rd of 5
7	Paralegal StudiesAbout 71 graduates a year	$36,678	Not reported	$17,251	2nd of 2
8	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 61 graduates a year	$33,233	Not reported	$9,105	2nd of 23
9	HVACAbout 203 graduates a year	$32,070	$54,727	$5,500	2nd of 9
10	AccountingAbout 126 graduates a year	$31,414	Not reported	$6,550	4th of 5
11	CosmetologyAbout 72 graduates a year	$18,887	$25,298	$5,500	24th 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

Nursing$77,795
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$58,408
Physical Science Technology$53,976
Business Administration$41,126
Computer and Information Science$39,224

Lowest median debt

Business$7,954
Teacher Education$8,479
Liberal Arts and General Studies$9,689
Criminal Justice$10,542
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$10,926

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 5,788 graduates a year
BusinessAbout 495 graduates a year
NursingAbout 334 graduates a year
Teacher EducationAbout 257 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 180 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $77,795 in their first year, the most of 13 Lone Star College System 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