Which Texas accounting program has the lowest debt?

Lone Star College System reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,550, with first-year pay of $31,414.

How much do accounting graduates earn in Texas?

The median across 5 Texas accounting certificate programs is $34,667 in the first year after graduating and $51,718 five years after.

How many accounting certificate programs are in Texas?

5 Texas programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Accounting (Certificate) Programs in Texas, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Certificate in Accounting and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Texas accounting certificate program pays its graduates $34,667 in their first year, $745 more than the national median. Austin Community College District reports the highest first-year pay ($62,261), and Lone Star College System the lowest median debt ($6,550).

Median first-year pay$34,667National $33,922

Median pay after 5 years$51,718National $39,965

Median federal debt$12,500National $14,081

Debt-to-earnings35%National 40%

All 5 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 Community College DistrictAustin · public	$62,261	$95,949	$21,898	35%
2	Dallas CollegeDallas · public	$39,308	$51,718	$12,500	32%
3	Houston City CollegeHouston · public	$34,667	Not reported	$14,905	43%
4	Lone Star College SystemThe Woodlands · public	$31,414	Not reported	$6,550	21%
5	Southern Careers Institute-AustinAustin · private for-profit	$22,081	$27,062	$8,507	39%

Debt and first-year pay at every Texas accounting program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Austin Community College District$62,261
Dallas College$39,308
Houston City College$34,667
Lone Star College System$31,414
Southern Careers Institute-Austin$22,081

Lowest median debt

Lone Star College System$6,550
Southern Careers Institute-Austin$8,507
Dallas College$12,500
Houston City College$14,905
Austin Community College District$21,898

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

$80,920

Median pay in Texas. 116,470 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $53,380Top 10%: $132,040

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$48,910

Median pay in Texas. 122,400 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $33,480Top 10%: $72,810

Financial Managers

$164,860

Median pay in Texas. 71,870 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $98,250Top 10%: $309,290

Financial and Investment Analysts

$99,150

Median pay in Texas. 28,820 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $63,230Top 10%: $169,990

Common questions

Austin Community College District in Austin reports the highest median first-year pay, $62,261. Its median federal debt is $21,898.

Accounting (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked36 programs by pay and debt Accounting (Bachelor's) programs in Texas, ranked39 programs by pay and debt Accounting (Associate's) programs in Texas, ranked5 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 Texas rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the accounting 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