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

Dallas College reports the lowest median federal debt, $7,959, with first-year pay of $38,239.

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

The median across 12 Texas vehicle maintenance and repair associate's programs is $39,171 in the first year after graduating and $47,085 five years after.

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Associate's) Programs in Texas, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many vehicle maintenance and repair associate's programs are in Texas?

12 Texas programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

12 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Associate's in Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Texas vehicle maintenance and repair associate's program pays its graduates $39,171 in their first year, $4,261 less than the national median. Tarrant County College District reports the highest first-year pay ($50,531), and Dallas College the lowest median debt ($7,959).

Median first-year pay$39,171National $43,432

Median pay after 5 years$47,085National $52,420

Median federal debt$15,932National $12,000

Debt-to-earnings37%National 27%

All 12 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	Tarrant County College DistrictFort Worth · public	$50,531	$71,094	$14,503	29%
2	Hallmark UniversitySan Antonio · private nonprofit	$47,446	$60,838	$23,287	49%
3	Amarillo CollegeAmarillo · public	$45,594	$56,650	Not reported	Not reported
4	Austin Community College DistrictAustin · public	$41,194	$50,580	$10,230	25%
5	San Jacinto Community CollegePasadena · public	$40,169	$59,369	Not reported	Not reported
6	Houston City CollegeHouston · public	$39,835	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
7	Texas State Technical CollegeWaco · public	$38,506	$54,421	$10,543	27%
8	Dallas CollegeDallas · public	$38,239	$48,401	$7,959	21%
9	Universal Technical Institute of TexasHouston · private for-profit	$37,601	Not reported	$17,360	46%
10	Western Technical College (Texas)El Paso · private for-profit	$34,336	$38,685	$20,000	58%
11	South Texas CollegeMcAllen · public	$30,307	$46,601	Not reported	Not reported
12	Southwest University at El PasoEl Paso · private for-profit	$27,925	$34,193	$20,000	72%

Amarillo College, San Jacinto Community College, Houston City College, and South Texas College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Texas vehicle maintenance and repair 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 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Tarrant County College District$50,531
Hallmark University$47,446
Amarillo College$45,594
Austin Community College District$41,194
San Jacinto Community College$40,169

Lowest median debt

Dallas College$7,959
Austin Community College District$10,230
Texas State Technical College$10,543
Tarrant County College District$14,503
Universal Technical Institute of Texas$17,360

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

$48,310

Median pay in Texas. 69,750 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $29,360Top 10%: $81,720

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers

$76,760

Median pay in Texas. 75,340 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $46,860Top 10%: $125,700

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

$58,810

Median pay in Texas. 29,870 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $40,930Top 10%: $81,660

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

$46,750

Median pay in Texas. 16,600 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $33,790Top 10%: $78,560

Common questions

Tarrant County College District in Fort Worth reports the highest median first-year pay, $50,531. Its median federal debt is $14,503.

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked130 programs by pay and debt Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate) programs in Texas, ranked16 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 vehicle maintenance and repair 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