The Top 25 Two-Year Trade Schools: Colleges That Can Solve The Skills Gap

This fall, approximately 4 million high school students in the U.S. will enter their senior year. Some are already thinking about what comes next, discussing their college wish lists with friends and counselors, and planning out campus visits with parents. Most will undoubtedly be pushed toward attending four-year schools, where bachelor’s degree will supposedly give each student the best chance at finding a fulfilling, high-paying career.

Four-year schools are good fits for many students, but the notion that they’re the best one for all students is downright wrong. As high-tech machines continue to disrupt how things are made, and as workforces age in many technical fields, there are vital jobs opening up that academics just can’t fill. Highly-skilled and well-trained workers are needed, and the country is home to top-notch technical schools ready to fill that need.

For the second year, Forbes is ranking the nation’s Top Two-Year Trade Schools, a list of technical and career colleges with high-earning alumni, stand-out graduation and retention rates, and respectable debt repayment scores (full methodology here). The 25 schools on the list cover a myriad of careers that need workers — and in high-paying, high-growth areas, such as aircraft maintenance, funeral services, dental hygiene and drafting.

“We are here for one purpose,” says Shawn Strong, president State Technical College of Missouri, the No. 3 school on this ranking. “I wouldn’t even say to get students jobs, but to start students’ careers. That’s all we do.”

The high-ranking trade schools look a lot different than the members of the Forbes Top Colleges list. While 61% of the bachelor’s list are private schools, 21 of the 25 trade schools are public. The Midwest makes up only a quarter of the four-year list, but 60% of the technical schools are from the region. 

Three schools are in the Pittsburgh metro area, including No. 1 Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. PIA, a private aircraft maintenance school with ties to Orville Wright himself, plays ball in an industry where the jobs not only are high-paying, but are in desperate need. Thirty percent of aircraft maintenance technicians nationwide have reached or are nearing retirement age, and only 2% of the workforce is new.

“You would have to try to not have a job offer,” PIA student Sam Karol says of his job prospects after graduation.

Despite the job opportunities that do exist at career schools— and the benefits of paying for two years of school rather than four — headcount numbers aren’t exactly booming. According to the National Center of Education Statistics, the number of associate’s degrees awarded nationwide has stalled since the 2011-12 school year, while the number of bachelor’s degrees keeps climbing. Among the 25 schools that made the list total combined enrollment has floundered from almost 48,000 in 2010 to less than 41,000 in 2016, an approximate 15% dip.

It’s an issue that’s attracting bipartisan attention — and solutions are getting bipartisan support. On July 31, President Donald Trump signed into law a revamped extension of the Bush-era Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, reasserting the federal government’s commitment to technical education. The new law, introduced by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) on May 4, bolted through both houses of Congress with widespread support.

“Whether you’re a high school student or a late-career worker, there’s never been a better time to learn a trade, hone a skill, or pursue your dream,” the president said following the law-signing at a ceremony at Tampa Bay Technical High School. “Now more than 11 million students and workers will have greater access to better training and more jobs.”

To make the investment worth it, many trade schools are adjusting their offerings and partnering with employers to strengthen the school-to-job pipeline. In response to the workforce needs in its local Kansas community, No. 9 Salina Area Technical College is expanding its police science offerings and starting a practical nursing program. PIA works with Delta, Embraer, Piedmont and other aerospace companies to raise awareness for the aircraft maintenance field and increase the job prospects for its students. State Tech partners with employers like Toyota, Caterpillar and International Trucks, and it recently started a utility industry technician program to address Missouri’s workforce needs.

“We don’t keep a program around unless there’s a demand and unless there’s a salary associated with it,” says Strong.

Trade school isn’t the best or most lucrative fit for everybody, but for students who prefer working with their hands, opportunities exist in diverse fields from health sciences to construction and beyond. Below is the list of the Top Two-Year Trade Schools:

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1. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics

Location: West Mifflin, PA

Private, non-profit

Median Mid-Career Salary (Payscale): $70,700

Average Net Price (IPEDS, in-state for public schools): $25,394

In-state population for first-time students (IPEDS): 40%

2. North Central Kansas Technical College

Beloit, KS

Public

Average Net Price: $11,961

In-state population for first-time students: 100%

3. State Technical College of Missouri

Linn, MO

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $58,400

Average Net Price: $7,918

In-state population for first-time students: 97%

 4. Lake Area Technical Institute

Watertown, SD

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $56,900

Average Net Price: $11,216

In-state population for first-time students: 81%

5. Lancaster County Career and Technology Center

Willow Street, PA

Public

Average Net Price: $9,865

In-state population for first-time students: 98%

6. Carolinas College of Health Sciences

Charlotte, NC

Public

Average Net Price: $21,895

In-state population for first-time students: 100%

7. Mitchell Technical Institute

Mitchell, SD

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $58,300

Average Net Price: $11,003

In-state population for first-time students: 91%

8. Salina Area Technical College

Salina, KS

Public

Average Net Price: $5,917

In-state population for first-time students: 95%

 9. Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

Lancaster, PA

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $63,000

Average Net Price: $5,341

In-state population for first-time students: 100%

10. Johnson College

Scranton, PA

Private, non-profit

Median Mid-Career Salary: $56,400

Average Net Price: $18,059

In-state population for first-time students: 97%

11. Rosedale Technical College

Pittsburgh, PA

Private, non-profit

Median Mid-Career Salary: $59,500

Average Net Price: $15,227

In-state population for first-time students: 90%

12. Northwest Iowa Community College

Sheldon, IA

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $65,800

Average Net Price: $10,089

In-state population for first-time students: 88%

13. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College

Fennimore, WI

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $57,400

Average Net Price: $8,820

In-state population for first-time students: 94%

14. North Dakota State College of Science

Wahpeton, ND

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $60,500

Average Net Price: $10,248

In-state population for first-time students: 57%

15. Frontier Community College

Fairfield, IL

Public

Average Net Price: $2,327

In-state population for first-time students: 96%

16. Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture

Curtis, NE

Public

Average Net Price: $11,007

In-state population for first-time students: 85%

17. Lakeshore Technical College

Cleveland, WI

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $53,600

Average Net Price: $8,838

In-state population for first-time students: 99%

18. Northwest Louisiana Technical College

Minden, LA

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $53,100

Average Net Price: $10,322

In-state population for first-time students: 100%

19. Bates Technical College

Tacoma, WA

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $71,100

Average Net Price: $3,913

In-state population for first-time students: 100%

20. Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science

Pittsburgh, PA

Private, non-profit

In-state population for first-time students: 52%

21. Moraine Park Technical College

Fond du Lac, WI

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $54,600

Average Net Price: $9,173

In-state population for first-time students: 100%

22. Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

Shell Lake, WI

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $53,900

Average Net Price: $9,250

In-state population for first-time students: 91%

23. Manhattan Area Technical College

Manhattan, KS

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $62,000

Average Net Price: $11,270

In-state population for first-time students: 96%

24. Asnuntuck Community College

Enfield, CT

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $64,300

Average Net Price:  $7,690

In-state population for first-time students: 94%

25. Dakota County Technical College

Rosemount, MN

Public

Median Mid-Career Salary: $61,600

Average Net Price: $12,133

In-state population for first-time students: 94%