Trade Schools and Career Colleges
2020 Trade Schools and Career Colleges Overview
For academic year 2019-2020, 1,938 trade schools, also called vocational schools, career colleges or technical colleges, are active.
Here, a trade school is less than 2 years and mostly private schools. For the tuition and academic statistics and searching schools for certain vocational programs, we include community colleges (public 2-4 years colleges).
- The 2020 average tuition & fees of trade schools is $14,550 for out-of-state students. The amount is average over all vocational programs and it varies by area of study and program length.
- Total 294,943 students have enrolled in such trade schools an career colleges and, of that, 5,860 students enrolled online exclusively.
- The average students to faculty ratio is 14.45 to 1.
- The average financial aid amount received at trade schools is $4,695.
- The average graduation rate is 70.45%.
Data Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
Vocational Programs
Trade Schools Statistics by State
| State | Number of Trade Schools | Average Tuition & Fees | Number of Students | Graduation Rate | Average Amount of Financial Aid | Students to Faculty Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 1 | $4,413 | 185 | 92.00% | $2,911 | 12 to 1 |
| Alabama | 18 | $14,225 | 1,877 | 67.94% | $4,747 | 17 to 1 |
| Arkansas | 32 | $14,763 | 2,496 | 62.86% | $4,662 | 14 to 1 |
| Arizona | 43 | $14,965 | 8,118 | 74.55% | $4,201 | 15 to 1 |
| California | 214 | $16,260 | 40,901 | 75.00% | $4,968 | 17 to 1 |
| Colorado | 21 | $14,464 | 6,413 | 68.79% | $3,760 | 14 to 1 |
| Connecticut | 34 | $16,582 | 6,541 | 73.18% | $4,003 | 12 to 1 |
| District of Columbia | 3 | $18,766 | 584 | 73.33% | $4,423 | 19 to 1 |
| Delaware | 9 | $13,246 | 1,347 | 67.25% | $4,646 | 14 to 1 |
| Florida | 131 | $12,359 | 26,297 | 75.11% | $4,230 | 15 to 1 |
| Georgia | 34 | $17,585 | 5,721 | 62.00% | $4,617 | 15 to 1 |
| Hawaii | 4 | $35,515 | 180 | 80.33% | $6,238 | 9 to 1 |
| Iowa | 1 | $9,500 | 27 | 67.00% | $3,187 | 7 to 1 |
| Idaho | 6 | $14,248 | 558 | 71.40% | $4,065 | 12 to 1 |
| Illinois | 89 | $16,310 | 10,222 | 69.10% | $4,653 | 13 to 1 |
| Indiana | 32 | $16,278 | 3,678 | 59.24% | $4,548 | 14 to 1 |
| Kansas | 13 | $16,093 | 2,582 | 74.17% | $4,781 | 11 to 1 |
| Kentucky | 20 | $15,418 | 1,752 | 53.58% | $4,878 | 16 to 1 |
| Louisiana | 55 | $14,915 | 7,724 | 66.37% | $5,393 | 14 to 1 |
| Massachusetts | 50 | $13,460 | 5,440 | 71.43% | $4,207 | 12 to 1 |
| Maryland | 27 | $17,675 | 4,437 | 65.04% | $3,871 | 17 to 1 |
| Maine | 5 | $15,807 | 782 | 78.60% | $4,204 | 13 to 1 |
| Michigan | 70 | $16,654 | 10,216 | 68.43% | $4,940 | 15 to 1 |
| Minnesota | 13 | $17,122 | 1,638 | 70.17% | $4,565 | 11 to 1 |
| Missouri | 55 | $13,390 | 3,641 | 70.00% | $5,617 | 11 to 1 |
| Mississippi | 17 | $14,245 | 2,338 | 72.06% | $5,238 | 15 to 1 |
| Montana | 5 | $12,592 | 113 | 78.25% | $4,846 | 11 to 1 |
| North Carolina | 31 | $16,417 | 4,764 | 69.76% | $4,829 | 14 to 1 |
| North Dakota | 3 | $12,608 | 49 | 90.67% | $7,972 | 11 to 1 |
| New Hampshire | 12 | $18,281 | 885 | 78.25% | $4,092 | 10 to 1 |
| New Jersey | 65 | $16,360 | 11,588 | 68.59% | $4,387 | 16 to 1 |
| New Mexico | 9 | $14,200 | 1,508 | 60.67% | $4,228 | 17 to 1 |
| Nevada | 15 | $16,759 | 2,620 | 67.67% | $4,174 | 11 to 1 |
| New York | 126 | $14,110 | 17,173 | 75.63% | $5,011 | 15 to 1 |
| Ohio | 83 | $11,493 | 9,736 | 75.51% | $4,892 | 11 to 1 |
| Oklahoma | 53 | $9,095 | 15,980 | 67.90% | $4,546 | 12 to 1 |
| Oregon | 8 | $14,156 | 1,142 | 74.67% | $4,036 | 24 to 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 101 | $16,174 | 9,850 | 70.98% | $4,715 | 13 to 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 49 | $9,187 | 7,426 | 66.17% | $5,274 | 19 to 1 |
| Rhode Island | 8 | $16,903 | 1,822 | 75.25% | $4,100 | 13 to 1 |
| South Carolina | 29 | $14,394 | 3,108 | 61.75% | $4,679 | 15 to 1 |
| Tennessee | 42 | $14,415 | 3,990 | 65.11% | $4,539 | 14 to 1 |
| Texas | 165 | $14,044 | 25,984 | 66.75% | $4,636 | 17 to 1 |
| Utah | 35 | $12,513 | 12,844 | 70.78% | $3,974 | 12 to 1 |
| Virginia | 34 | $13,025 | 3,045 | 75.96% | $4,339 | 13 to 1 |
| Vermont | 2 | $19,125 | 177 | 82.50% | $6,786 | 12 to 1 |
| Washington | 27 | $14,560 | 3,039 | 72.00% | $4,641 | 14 to 1 |
| Wisconsin | 16 | $17,326 | 1,145 | 66.69% | $4,143 | 11 to 1 |
| West Virginia | 22 | $7,954 | 1,246 | 75.81% | $5,620 | 12 to 1 |
| Wyoming | 1 | $16,200 | 14 | 79.00% | $4,933 | 10 to 1 |