Howard Community College

Columbia, MD · Public · 6,779 students · Visit Website

Howard Community College offers career-focused training in various health sciences, including competitive nursing programs with traditional, accelerated, and LPN-to-RN pathways, as well as allied health fields like Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Dental Hygiene. Beyond healthcare, the college provides robust apprenticeship programs in skilled trades such as Electrical, HVACR, Plumbing, and Construction Management, which integrate coursework with paid, full-time field work alongside local employers. Many programs prepare students for national certification exams and emphasize hands-on learning, with clinical rotations and lab work being integral components.

Programs Analyzed

4

Avg Grad Earnings

$56,171/yr

Avg TradeSchoolOutlook Score

72/100

Tuition (In-State)

$4,080/yr
Out-of-state: $8,976/yr

All Programs at Howard Community College

4 trade programs at Howard CC, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score (combines earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size). Use the “compare” links to see how this school’s programs stack up against others nationally.

Program Score Earnings Debt 10yr ROI AI Risk Job Market
Nursing
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Compare nationwide →
Compare in MD →
86 $71,307/yr $17,434 98.9x High Very Large
292 openings/yr
Practical Nursing
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
Compare nationwide →
Compare in MD →
85 $58,704/yr $11,994 142.9x Low Very Large
258 openings/yr
Allied Health Professions
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
Compare nationwide →
Compare in MD →
75 $72,633/yr $19,200 93.2x Moderate Very Large
124 openings/yr
Liberal Arts & Humanities
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Compare nationwide →
Compare in MD →
41 $22,042/yr $9,500 62.0x Low Medium
13 openings/yr

Reading the table: Score combines earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size on a 0–100 scale. Earnings = median first-year salary from College Scorecard. Debt = median federal debt at graduation (blank where Scorecard suppresses small samples). 10yr ROI = projected 10-year earnings ÷ in-state tuition. AI Risk reflects task-level AI exposure across mapped occupations. Job Market = annual openings nationwide for connected occupations.

More Trade Schools in Maryland

Top-scored trade schools elsewhere in Maryland, ranked by average TradeSchoolOutlook Score across their programs.

View all trade schools in Maryland →

Apprenticeship Pathways in Maryland

Earn-while-you-learn alternatives in Maryland. Registered apprenticeships skip tuition and pay you during training, though training periods are typically longer.

Browse all apprenticeship trades →

Trade Schools Near Columbia

Other cities in Maryland with multiple trade schools, sorted by distance from Columbia.

About This Data

TradeSchoolOutlook analyzes 4 trade and vocational programs at Howard Community College using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034).

The TradeSchoolOutlook Score (0–100) combines graduate earnings, return on investment, AI resilience, and job market size. AI Risk reflects task-level exposure for the occupations each program feeds into. Job Market shows the size of the national hiring pool. Programs without published debt figures had small reporting samples that the College Scorecard suppresses for privacy.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections). Last updated 2026.