Which Tennessee liberal arts and general studies program has the lowest debt?

Jackson State Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,500, with first-year pay of $27,378.

How much do liberal arts and general studies graduates earn in Tennessee?

The median across 15 Tennessee liberal arts and general studies associate's programs is $26,438 in the first year after graduating and $39,344 five years after.

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's) Programs in Tennessee, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many liberal arts and general studies associate's programs are in Tennessee?

15 Tennessee programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 15 of them also report federal debt.

15 programs report first-year pay
15 also report federal debt
Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Tennessee liberal arts and general studies associate's program pays its graduates $26,438 in their first year, $701 less than the national median. Austin Peay reports the highest first-year pay ($30,708), and Jackson State Community College the lowest median debt ($5,500).

Median first-year pay$26,438National $27,139

Median pay after 5 years$39,344National $40,284

Median federal debt$8,750National $10,864

Debt-to-earnings33%National 38%

All 15 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	Austin PeayClarksville · public	$30,708	$43,477	$17,500	57%
2	Nashville State Community CollegeNashville · public	$29,280	$44,360	$13,309	45%
3	Southwest Tennessee Community CollegeMemphis · public	$28,980	$38,553	$8,750	30%
4	Jackson State Community CollegeJackson · public	$27,378	$35,757	$5,500	20%
5	Motlow State Community CollegeTullahoma · public	$26,915	$41,823	$5,500	20%
6	Pellissippi State Community CollegeKnoxville · public	$26,757	$40,135	$8,750	33%
7	Dyersburg State Community CollegeDyersburg · public	$26,735	$36,222	$7,722	29%
8	Columbia State Community CollegeColumbia · public	$26,438	$40,318	$8,517	32%
9	Volunteer State Community CollegeGallatin · public	$26,355	$43,630	$8,750	33%
10	Chattanooga State Community CollegeChattanooga · public	$25,797	$38,262	$12,704	49%
11	Roane State Community CollegeHarriman · public	$25,289	$38,359	$8,721	34%
12	Walters State Community CollegeMorristown · public	$24,893	$36,545	$5,500	22%
13	Northeast State Community CollegeBlountville · public	$24,152	$37,744	$6,000	25%
14	Cumberland UniversityLebanon · private nonprofit	$22,849	Not reported	$10,050	44%
15	Cleveland State Community CollegeCleveland · public	$18,249	$40,626	$10,625	58%

3 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee liberal arts and general studies program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 15 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Austin Peay$30,708
Nashville State Community College$29,280
Southwest Tennessee Community College$28,980
Jackson State Community College$27,378
Motlow State Community College$26,915

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.

Common questions

Austin Peay in Clarksville reports the highest median first-year pay, $30,708. Its median federal debt is $17,500.

Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked728 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's) programs in Tennessee, ranked10 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 Tennessee rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the liberal arts and general studies 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