Best Education Schools (2026): 9 Ranked by Salary & ROI
These are the top schools offering Education, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Education graduate earns $25,361/yr across 9 schools.
BLS projects 2.1% employment growth for occupations in this field from 2024–2034, with approximately 6 annual job openings per related program area.
All Education Programs Ranked
Click any row for full earnings projections and career path breakdown.
| # | School | TSW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Education |
55
51–57 |
$49,761/yr | 48.8x |
| 2 |
Connors State College
Warner, OK · Education |
41
35–44 |
$26,906/yr | 46.2x |
| 3 |
Southern Maine Community College
South Portland, ME · Education |
39
36–42 |
$28,061/yr | 36.0x |
| 4 |
Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, IN · Education |
38
32–42 |
$26,848/yr | 36.9x |
| 5 |
Trinity Valley Community College
Athens, TX · Education |
42
33–46 |
$22,519/yr | 75.0x |
| 6 |
Brookdale Community College
Lincroft, NJ · Education |
30
23–34 |
$19,157/yr | 36.7x |
| 7 |
Community College of Rhode Island
Warwick, RI · Education |
34
30–37 |
$25,867/yr | 23.3x |
| 8 |
Walters State Community College
Morristown, TN · Education |
27
20–30 |
$12,280/yr | 40.9x |
| 9 |
Middlesex College
Edison, NJ · Education |
28
23–30 |
$16,846/yr | 17.6x |
Programs by State
Top states by program availability. Click a state for the full in-state ranking.
| State | Programs | Avg Earnings | Avg TSW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 2 | $18,002/yr | 20 |
| Indiana | 2 | $38,305/yr | 36 |
| Texas | 1 | $22,519/yr | 28 |
| Tennessee | 1 | $12,280/yr | 22 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | $25,867/yr | 23 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | $26,906/yr | 31 |
| Maine | 1 | $28,061/yr | 29 |
About This Ranking
What we ranked
Best Education Schools ranks 9 programs across the United States by the TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines graduate earnings, return on investment, and job-market demand into a single 0-100 metric.
Data sources
Earnings figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, which tracks graduate income one and five years after program completion. Job-market projections use Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 employment data.
How to read the table
Use the sort controls below the headline to re-rank by earnings, ROI, or other metrics. Click any school name for full earnings projections, three-scenario modeling, and detailed program data. Most students attend a school within driving distance — local rankings are usually more actionable than national.
Caveats & limitations
Rankings reflect what the data can measure: post-graduation earnings, debt levels, and broad labor-market trends. They cannot capture program quality nuances like instructor expertise, hands-on equipment access, or industry connections. Treat rankings as a starting point — visit schools and talk to current students before committing.
Methodology
Programs are ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (projected earnings vs. program tuition).
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.