Western Technical College (Wisconsin) Accounting (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Accounting and Related Services
- Public college
- La Crosse, WI
- About 24 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Western Technical College (Wisconsin) accounting graduates earn more than graduates of most accounting programs nationally, $42,732 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $16,796 in federal loans, close to the national median of $17,919. Two other Wisconsin programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Wisconsin and national columns are the medians across all accounting associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Western Technical College (Wisconsin) graduates earn more than the national figure and about $9,195 more than the Wisconsin median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Wisconsin accounting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Wisconsin medians.
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 25% between the first and fifth year.
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 $178 a month, or 5.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
76% of graduates (22 of 29) were working in Wisconsin one year after graduating. Prices in the La Crosse area are about 8% below the national average, so a $42,732 salary here buys what about $46,565 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Accountants and Auditors
$79,400Median pay in Wisconsin. 25,100 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
$50,340Median pay in Wisconsin. 25,960 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.
Financial Managers
$139,720Median pay in Wisconsin. 15,530 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Financial and Investment Analysts
$95,570Median pay in Wisconsin. 5,430 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Western Technical College (Wisconsin)
Accounting ranks 8th of 12 associate's programs at Western Technical College (Wisconsin) by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($64,274), Electromechanical Technology ($60,488), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($55,465).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $42,732 one year after graduating and $53,540 five years after. The median across accounting associate's programs in Wisconsin is $42,427.
The median federal loan balance is $16,796, which ranks 7th lowest of 9 accounting associate's programs in Wisconsin. That works out to about $178 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 39% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 47%.
Most do. 76% (22 of 29) were working in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 accounting 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