Is a liberal arts and general studies degree from Texarkana College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 55% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 38%. Compare the cost with other Texas programs before deciding.

Texarkana College Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Texarkana College liberal arts and general studies graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $12,957, which ranks 38th lowest of 46 liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Texas. That works out to about $137 a month over 10 years.

Q: Do Texarkana College liberal arts and general studies graduates stay in Texas?

Most do. 72% (47 of 65) were working in Texas one year after graduating.

Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Public college
Texarkana, TX
About 170 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Texarkana College liberal arts and general studies graduates earn less than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $23,458 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $12,957 in federal loans, close to the national median of $10,864. Several Texas programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$23,45821st percentile of 728 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$37,64960% more than year one

Median federal debt$12,95738th lowest of 46 Texas programs

Debt-to-earnings55%Texas median 38%, national 38%

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.

	Texarkana College	Texas	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$23,458	$27,180	$27,139
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$37,649	$41,720	$40,284
Median federal debt at graduation	$12,957	$10,136	$10,864
Debt as share of first-year pay	55%	38%	38%
Programs compared		47	728

Five years out, Texarkana College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,071 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.

Texarkana CollegeOther Texas programs

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 60% between the first and fifth year.

Texarkana College grads, year 1$23,458

Texarkana College grads, year 5$37,649

All Texas liberal arts and general studies grads, year 5$41,720

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 $137 a month, or 7.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (40 borrowers)	Share
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–39%

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.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

72% of graduates (47 of 65) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the Texarkana area are about 16% below the national average, so a $23,458 salary here buys what about $27,922 buys in a typical US city.

About Texarkana College

In-district tuition and fees	$2,476 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$5,332 / year
Average net price after aid	$8,812 / year
Graduation rate (within 1.5 times the normal program length)	47%
Undergraduate students	1,502

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 3rd of 3 associate's programs at Texarkana College by first-year earnings. The others are Nursing ($65,308) and Business ($27,674).

Other liberal arts and general studies associate's programs near Texarkana

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Texarkana CollegeTexarkana, TX · public		$23,458	$12,957
Cossatot Community College of the University of ArkansasDe Queen, AR · public	45 mi	$29,547	$7,018
Northeast Texas Community CollegeMount Pleasant, TX · public	52 mi	$33,903	$12,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $23,458 one year after graduating and $37,649 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Texas is $27,180.

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

Liberal Arts and General Studies associate's programs in Texas, ranked47 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies associate's programs in the US, ranked728 programs by pay and debt All Texarkana College programs, ranked8 programs by pay and debt