Which Ridgewater College certificate program has the lowest debt?

Welding and Machining and Cosmetology graduates leave with a median of $9,750 in federal loans, the lowest among 5 Ridgewater College certificate programs that report debt.

How much does Ridgewater College cost?

Tuition and fees are $6,121 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $10,046 a year.

How many Ridgewater College programs report graduate pay?

6 associate's programs and 7 certificate programs at Ridgewater College report first-year pay, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

Ridgewater College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Willmar, MN
2,162 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

7 Ridgewater College certificate programs report what graduates earn. Electrician Training pays the most in the first year ($46,852), and Cosmetology the least ($21,574). The median program pays $44,421. Ridgewater College also has 6 associate's programs that report pay.

Tuition and fees$6,121Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$10,046Per year

Graduation rate50%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 6 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Minnesota" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Minnesota. 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 Minnesota
1	NursingAbout 80 graduates a year	$59,082	$72,623	$23,062	21st of 23
2	Electromechanical TechnologyAbout 26 graduates a year	$58,968	Not reported	$17,196	6th of 8
3	Criminal JusticeAbout 22 graduates a year	$49,040	Not reported	Not reported	8th of 11
4	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 19 graduates a year	$40,206	$42,713	$25,902	3rd of 5
5	Veterinary TechnologyAbout 38 graduates a year	$37,141	$36,956	$14,171	2nd of 3
6	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 195 graduates a year	$29,262	$46,843	$11,389	16th of 23

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

All 7 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Minnesota" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Minnesota. 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 Minnesota
1	Electrician TrainingAbout 29 graduates a year	$46,852	Not reported	Not reported	6th of 11
2	Practical NursingAbout 16 graduates a year	$44,921	$38,268	$23,755	4th of 18
3	Agricultural BusinessAbout 17 graduates a year	$44,875	$55,791	$10,697	1st of 1
4	Welding and MachiningAbout 36 graduates a year	$44,421	$58,734	$9,750	9th of 13
5	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 21 graduates a year	$38,001	$49,744	$9,885	10th of 13
6	CarpentryGraduates a year not reported	$33,969	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 2
7	CosmetologyAbout 31 graduates a year	$21,574	$28,325	$9,750	7th of 8

Quick picks: certificate programs

Highest first-year pay

Electrician Training$46,852
Practical Nursing$44,921
Agricultural Business$44,875
Welding and Machining$44,421
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair$38,001

Lowest median debt

Welding and Machining$9,750
Cosmetology$9,750
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair$9,885
Agricultural Business$10,697
Practical Nursing$23,755

Largest programs

Welding and MachiningAbout 36 graduates a year
CosmetologyAbout 31 graduates a year
Electrician TrainingAbout 29 graduates a year
Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 21 graduates a year
Agricultural BusinessAbout 17 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrician Training graduates earn a median of $46,852 in their first year, the most of 7 Ridgewater College certificate 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 Minnesota 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