Which Portland Community College associate's program has the lowest debt?

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair graduates leave with a median of $12,666 in federal loans, the lowest among 14 Portland Community College associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Portland Community College cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $5,220 a year, and $10,440 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $10,405 a year.

How many Portland Community College programs report graduate pay?

17 associate's programs and 3 certificate programs at Portland Community College report first-year pay, and 16 of them also report federal debt.

Portland Community College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Portland, OR
19,531 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

17 Portland Community College associate's programs report what graduates earn. Industrial Technology pays the most in the first year ($78,450), and Design and Applied Arts the least ($26,285). The median program pays $46,532. Portland Community College also has 3 certificate programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$5,220Per year. Out-of-state $10,440

Average net price after aid$10,405Per year

Graduation rate18%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 17 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Oregon" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Oregon. 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 Oregon
1	Industrial TechnologyAbout 9 graduates a year	$78,450	$83,086	Not reported	1st of 1
2	NursingAbout 28 graduates a year	$78,033	$98,021	$32,000	10th of 12
3	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 42 graduates a year	$72,204	$87,283	$22,484	3rd of 6
4	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 7 graduates a year	$63,642	$81,975	$21,409	1st of 1
5	Construction Finishing and InspectionAbout 15 graduates a year	$63,103	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
6	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 19 graduates a year	$58,410	$48,451	$19,000	1st of 1
7	Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 28 graduates a year	$54,198	$55,324	Not reported	1st of 1
8	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 74 graduates a year	$48,144	$64,976	$12,666	1st of 3
9	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 15 graduates a year	$46,532	$57,704	$28,402	1st of 1
10	Criminal JusticeAbout 26 graduates a year	$45,061	$46,875	$24,000	1st of 3
11	Business AdministrationAbout 61 graduates a year	$44,172	$49,470	$15,273	1st of 1
12	Paralegal StudiesAbout 33 graduates a year	$42,463	$56,558	$23,250	1st of 1
13	AccountingAbout 35 graduates a year	$40,816	$44,473	$20,031	2nd of 2
14	Veterinary TechnologyAbout 27 graduates a year	$40,748	$40,877	$21,000	1st of 1
15	Software and Media ApplicationsGraduates a year not reported	$37,572	$50,936	$23,570	1st of 1
16	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 2,053 graduates a year	$30,852	$43,197	$15,334	1st of 12
17	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 76 graduates a year	$26,285	$45,682	$17,512	1st of 1

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

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

All 3 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Oregon" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Oregon. 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 Oregon
1	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 73 graduates a year	$45,994	$40,557	$12,834	1st of 6
2	GeographyAbout 48 graduates a year	$38,714	Not reported	$21,644	1st of 1
3	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 42 graduates a year	$36,211	$44,630	Not reported	2nd of 4

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Industrial Technology$78,450
Nursing$78,033
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions$72,204
Biomedical Engineering$63,642
Construction Finishing and Inspection$63,103

Lowest median debt

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair$12,666
Business Administration$15,273
Liberal Arts and General Studies$15,334
Design and Applied Arts$17,512
Dental Hygiene and Assisting$19,000

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 2,053 graduates a year
Design and Applied ArtsAbout 76 graduates a year
Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 74 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 61 graduates a year
Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 42 graduates a year

Common questions

Industrial Technology graduates earn a median of $78,450 in their first year, the most of 17 Portland Community 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 Oregon 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