Which New York accounting program has the lowest debt?

LaGuardia Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,553, with first-year pay of $20,436.

How much do accounting graduates earn in New York?

The median across 11 New York accounting associate's programs is $30,942 in the first year after graduating and $45,116 five years after.

How many accounting associate's programs are in New York?

11 New York programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 9 of them also report federal debt.

Accounting (Associate's) Programs in New York, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

11 programs report first-year pay
9 also report federal debt
Associate's in Accounting and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York accounting associate's program pays its graduates $30,942 in their first year, $6,307 less than the national median. Niagara County Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($39,761), and LaGuardia Community College the lowest median debt ($6,553).

Median first-year pay$30,942National $37,249

Median pay after 5 years$45,116National $44,765

Median federal debt$12,492National $17,919

Debt-to-earnings35%National 47%

All 11 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	Niagara County Community CollegeSanborn · public	$39,761	$55,692	$14,873	37%
2	Finger Lakes Community CollegeCanandaigua · public	$37,433	$49,245	$19,618	52%
3	Bryant & Stratton College-BuffaloBuffalo · private nonprofit	$36,958	$42,567	$26,291	71%
4	Nassau Community CollegeGarden City · public	$35,513	$56,834	$12,492	35%
5	Hostos Community CollegeBronx · public	$31,397	$42,684	$7,250	23%
6	BMCCNew York · public	$30,942	$47,030	$10,197	33%
7	City TechBrooklyn · public	$27,467	$44,978	Not reported	Not reported
8	Suffolk County Community CollegeSelden · public	$27,170	$53,999	$9,784	36%
9	Kingsborough Community CollegeBrooklyn · public	$26,953	$41,823	Not reported	Not reported
10	Mohawk Valley Community CollegeUtica · public	$26,181	Not reported	$7,730	30%
11	LaGuardia Community CollegeLong Island City · public	$20,436	$45,254	$6,553	32%

City Tech and Kingsborough Community College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. 2 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York accounting program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 9 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Niagara County Community College$39,761
Finger Lakes Community College$37,433
Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo$36,958
Nassau Community College$35,513
Hostos Community College$31,397

Lowest median debt

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 accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$102,640

Median pay in New York. 109,830 people work in this job in New York. 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.

Bottom 10%: $63,700Top 10%: $171,030

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$58,160

Median pay in New York. 84,280 people work in this job in New York. 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.

Bottom 10%: $39,880Top 10%: $81,990

Financial Managers

$219,880

Median pay in New York. 80,810 people work in this job in New York. 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.

Bottom 10%: $124,670Top 10%: $370,780

Financial and Investment Analysts

$127,930

Median pay in New York. 52,380 people work in this job in New York. 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.

Bottom 10%: $77,540Top 10%: $225,380

Common questions

Niagara County Community College in Sanborn reports the highest median first-year pay, $39,761. Its median federal debt is $14,873.

Accounting (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked102 programs by pay and debt Accounting (Bachelor's) programs in New York, ranked45 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 New York rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the accounting associate's 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