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

Western Technical College (Wisconsin) reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,500, with first-year pay of $36,011.

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

The median across 10 Wisconsin vehicle maintenance and repair certificate programs is $37,216 in the first year after graduating and $47,093 five years after.

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

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

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

10 programs report first-year pay
8 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 Wisconsin vehicle maintenance and repair certificate program pays its graduates $37,216 in their first year, $1,311 more than the national median. Fox Valley Technical College reports the highest first-year pay ($45,675), and Western Technical College (Wisconsin) the lowest median debt ($5,500).

Median first-year pay$37,216National $35,905

Median pay after 5 years$47,093National $44,862

Median federal debt$8,688National $10,501

Debt-to-earnings22%National 29%

All 10 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	Fox Valley Technical CollegeAppleton · public	$45,675	$63,686	$8,250	18%
2	Gateway Technical CollegeKenosha · public	$43,965	Not reported	$9,333	21%
3	Chippewa Valley Technical CollegeEau Claire · public	$38,091	$42,645	$9,500	25%
4	Southwest Wisconsin Technical CollegeFennimore · public	$37,745	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
5	Lakeshore Technical CollegeCleveland · public	$37,431	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Madison Area Technical CollegeMadison · public	$37,001	Not reported	$9,500	26%
7	Western Technical College (Wisconsin)La Crosse · public	$36,011	$48,346	$5,500	15%
8	Northeast Wisconsin Technical CollegeGreen Bay · public	$35,759	$45,326	$9,000	25%
9	Northwood Technical CollegeRice Lake · public	$35,702	$57,842	$7,000	20%
10	Milwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukee · public	$35,427	$45,595	$8,375	24%

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College and Lakeshore Technical College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

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

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

Fox Valley Technical College$45,675
Gateway Technical College$43,965
Chippewa Valley Technical College$38,091
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College$37,745
Lakeshore Technical College$37,431

Lowest median debt

Western Technical College (Wisconsin)$5,500
Northwood Technical College$7,000
Fox Valley Technical College$8,250
Milwaukee Area Technical College$8,375
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College$9,000

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

$54,350

Median pay in Wisconsin. 12,270 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $36,590Top 10%: $78,140

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers

$82,570

Median pay in Wisconsin. 10,640 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $55,930Top 10%: $124,090

Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

$62,450

Median pay in Wisconsin. 6,750 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $45,250Top 10%: $82,210

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

$49,170

Median pay in Wisconsin. 6,120 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $39,090Top 10%: $64,000

Common questions

Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton reports the highest median first-year pay, $45,675. Its median federal debt is $8,250.

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked223 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 Wisconsin 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