UEI College-Gardena HVAC (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)
- Private for-profit college
- Gardena, CA
- About 91 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UEI College-Gardena HVAC graduates earn less than graduates of most HVAC programs nationally, $30,235 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $9,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $10,117. Several California programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all HVAC certificate programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every California HVAC program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $7,299 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $101 a month, or 4.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
46 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $8,019.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
93% of graduates (295 of 318) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $30,235 salary here buys what about $26,623 buys in a typical US city.
The median California HVAC technician earns $72,560, compared with a national median of $61,010. After adjusting for California prices, that pay is worth about $65,535, which puts California ahead.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to HVAC, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
$72,560Median pay in California. 35,130 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 40,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
About UEI College-Gardena
HVAC ranks 1st of 7 certificate programs at UEI College-Gardena by first-year earnings. The top three are HVAC ($30,235), Vehicle Maintenance and Repair ($27,550), and Office Administration ($26,109).
Other HVAC certificate programs near Gardena
Common questions
The median graduate earns $30,235 one year after graduating. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers in the Los Angeles metro area earn a median of $73,830 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $9,500, which ranks 4th lowest of 11 HVAC certificate programs in California. That works out to about $101 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 31% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 29%. Compare the cost with other California programs before deciding.
Most do. 93% (295 of 318) were working in California 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 California 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 HVAC 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