Which Minnesota vehicle maintenance and repair program has the lowest debt?

Central Lakes College-Brainerd reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,500, with first-year pay of $41,672.

How much do vehicle maintenance and repair graduates earn in Minnesota?

The median across 13 Minnesota vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs is $41,672 in the first year after graduating and $52,470 five years after.

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate) Programs in Minnesota, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs are in Minnesota?

13 Minnesota programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

13 programs report first-year pay
10 also report federal debt
Certificate in Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Minnesota vehicle maintenance and repair certificate program pays its graduates $41,672 in their first year, $5,767 more than the national median. Minneapolis Community and Technical College reports the highest first-year pay ($58,745), and Central Lakes College-Brainerd the lowest median debt ($6,500).

Median first-year pay$41,672National $35,905

Median pay after 5 years$52,470National $44,862

Median federal debt$11,651National $10,501

Debt-to-earnings26%National 29%

All 13 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Minneapolis Community and Technical CollegeMinneapolis · public	$58,745	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
2	St Cloud Technical and Community CollegeSaint Cloud · public	$45,960	$57,990	$12,000	26%
3	Alexandria Technical & Community CollegeAlexandria · public	$45,951	$55,522	$12,000	26%
4	Minnesota State Community and Technical CollegeFergus Falls · public	$44,661	$44,862	Not reported	Not reported
5	Northland Community and Technical CollegeThief River Falls · public	$43,254	$52,470	$11,302	26%
6	Hennepin Technical CollegeBrooklyn Park · public	$42,294	$49,002	$11,129	26%
7	Central Lakes College-BrainerdBrainerd · public	$41,672	$55,050	$6,500	16%
8	Saint Paul CollegeSaint Paul · public	$41,572	$61,551	$12,000	29%
9	Minnesota West Community and Technical CollegeGranite Falls · public	$39,165	$46,376	$9,500	24%
10	Ridgewater CollegeWillmar · public	$38,001	$49,744	$9,885	26%
11	Rochester Community and Technical CollegeRochester · public	$37,029	$54,143	$12,000	32%
12	Century College (Minnesota)White Bear Lake · public	$35,241	$48,032	Not reported	Not reported
13	Lake Superior CollegeDuluth · public	$33,889	$48,332	$12,000	35%

Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minnesota State Community and Technical College, and Century College (Minnesota) report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota vehicle maintenance and repair program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 10 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Minneapolis Community and Technical College$58,745
St Cloud Technical and Community College$45,960
Alexandria Technical & Community College$45,951
Minnesota State Community and Technical College$44,661
Northland Community and Technical College$43,254

Lowest median debt

Central Lakes College-Brainerd$6,500
Minnesota West Community and Technical College$9,500
Ridgewater College$9,885
Hennepin Technical College$11,129
Northland Community and Technical College$11,302

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to vehicle maintenance and repair, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics

$58,390

Median pay in Minnesota. 11,980 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $38,310Top 10%: $83,180

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers

$87,160

Median pay in Minnesota. 9,110 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 48,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $57,210Top 10%: $127,410

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

$66,840

Median pay in Minnesota. 7,300 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $49,810Top 10%: $90,520

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

$52,210

Median pay in Minnesota. 3,430 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 15,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $40,750Top 10%: $70,460

Common questions

Minneapolis Community and Technical College in Minneapolis reports the highest median first-year pay, $58,745.

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked223 programs by pay and debt Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Associate's) programs in Minnesota, ranked9 programs by pay and debt

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.
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.
Medians are across the vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024