A welder at work with sparks flying — Photo: The National Guard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Trade schools · federal data

Trade schools and programs compared

Compare 2,123 trade schools and 17,613 certificate and associate programs in 19 skilled trades and health careers. Every figure is federal data: what graduates of each program earned one and four years after finishing, what they borrowed, and what each school charges.

Trade schools2,123

Public trade schools597

For-profit trade schools1,402

Median tuition, public$4,761

Median tuition, for-profit$17,000

Median completion rate70%

Pick a trade

Each page lists every school with a certificate or associate program in that field, sorted by what graduates earn. The figure on each card is the typical certificate program's median pay one year after graduation.

Welding965 schools · $42,730 first year HVAC599 schools · $42,090 first year Electrician581 schools · $44,727 first year Plumbing166 schools · $41,193 first year Carpentry221 schools · $36,494 first year Construction trades321 schools · $36,165 first year Auto and diesel mechanic894 schools · $42,072 first year Heavy equipment mechanic319 schools · $62,165 first year Truck driving (CDL)275 schools · $48,327 first year Cosmetology and barbering1,281 schools · $23,112 first year Culinary arts556 schools · $31,480 first year Medical assistant1,409 schools · $32,872 first year LPN and CNA1,130 schools · $49,356 first year Dental assisting and hygiene694 schools · $31,046 first year Phlebotomy and medical lab589 schools · $33,614 first year EMT, surgical tech and imaging1,151 schools · $53,120 first year Medical billing and coding1,154 schools · $33,497 first year Massage therapy339 schools · $28,052 first year Paralegal499 schools · $47,938 first year

Highest-paying trades by graduate earnings

Certificate programs ranked by the typical program's median earnings four years after graduation (graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars). Associate degree figures are shown for comparison.

#	Trade	Certificate: 1 yr after	Certificate: 4 yrs after	Associate: 1 yr after	Median debt, certificate	Schools
1	Heavy equipment mechanic	$62,165	$67,167	$64,840	$9,500	319
2	EMT, surgical tech and imaging	$53,120	$56,884	$60,570	$9,563	1,151
3	LPN and CNA	$49,356	$56,424	$57,106	$11,405	1,130
4	Electrician	$44,727	$55,718	$50,308	$9,292	581
5	Paralegal	$47,938	$54,535	$42,131	$13,150	499
6	Truck driving (CDL)	$48,327	$52,835	$54,938	$6,498	275
7	Plumbing	$41,193	$50,748	$49,923	$8,441	166
8	Auto and diesel mechanic	$42,072	$50,310	$48,348	$10,818	894
9	HVAC	$42,090	$47,821	$46,538	$9,500	599
10	Welding	$42,730	$47,694	$49,355	$7,768	965
11	Carpentry	$36,494	$42,787	$54,750	$9,500	221
12	Construction trades	$36,165	$39,229	$52,390	$9,500	321
13	Phlebotomy and medical lab	$33,614	$37,643	$54,320	$7,924	589
14	Medical billing and coding	$33,497	$36,555	$36,275	$9,500	1,154
15	Medical assistant	$32,872	$34,875	$42,087	$9,500	1,409
16	Dental assisting and hygiene	$31,046	$34,673	$65,263	$9,500	694
17	Culinary arts	$31,480	$33,045	$34,734	$9,500	556
18	Massage therapy	$28,052	$29,672	$40,767	$7,880	339
19	Cosmetology and barbering	$23,112	$26,652	$24,001	$7,652	1,281

The typical program is the middle program when every program's median is lined up, so one large school does not set the number. Earnings cover graduates who received federal aid and were working, not enrolled. See highest-paying trades for more.

Trade schools by state

Alabama33 trade schools Alaska5 trade schools Arizona61 trade schools Arkansas39 trade schools California255 trade schools Colorado36 trade schools Connecticut18 trade schools Delaware7 trade schools District of Columbia3 trade schools Florida151 trade schools Georgia55 trade schools Hawaii4 trade schools Idaho15 trade schools Illinois97 trade schools Indiana39 trade schools Iowa20 trade schools Kansas31 trade schools Kentucky38 trade schools Louisiana53 trade schools Maine5 trade schools Maryland23 trade schools Massachusetts22 trade schools Michigan58 trade schools Minnesota20 trade schools Mississippi12 trade schools Missouri30 trade schools Montana4 trade schools Nebraska7 trade schools Nevada21 trade schools New Hampshire7 trade schools New Jersey53 trade schools New Mexico18 trade schools New York85 trade schools North Carolina50 trade schools North Dakota6 trade schools Ohio112 trade schools Oklahoma40 trade schools Oregon17 trade schools Pennsylvania98 trade schools Puerto Rico50 trade schools Rhode Island7 trade schools South Carolina31 trade schools South Dakota3 trade schools Tennessee60 trade schools Texas164 trade schools Utah34 trade schools Vermont1 trade schools Virginia45 trade schools Washington29 trade schools West Virginia14 trade schools Wisconsin35 trade schools Wyoming2 trade schools

Guides

Frequently asked questions

How many trade schools are there in the U.S.?

The College Scorecard lists 2,123 currently operating schools with at least 50 students that mostly award certificates: 597 public, 124 private nonprofit and 1,402 for-profit. Many community colleges also run trade programs; this site covers 3,124 schools with programs in the trades listed above.

How much does trade school cost?

Median yearly tuition and fees for 2025-26 are $4,761 at public trade schools and $17,000 at for-profit trade schools. After grants, aided students paid a median net price of $8,389 a year at public schools and $21,132 at for-profit schools (2024-25).

What trade pays the most?

Among the fields on this site, heavy equipment mechanic certificate programs had the highest typical earnings four years after graduation: $67,167 a year, followed by EMT, surgical tech and imaging ($56,884) and LPN and CNA ($56,424).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (institution and field of study files), data release of October 15, 2026. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid and were working, not enrolled. What each figure covers.