Athletic Training/Trainer Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Athletic Training/Trainer maps to BLS occupations averaging about $84,494, with roughly 501,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 708 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $5,060.
Key Statistics
Athletic Training/Trainer: what the data shows
Common questions about athletic training/trainer degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a athletic training/trainer degree?
A Athletic Training/Trainer program is classified under NCES CIP 51.0913 in the Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions field family (51.09).
A program that prepares individuals to work in consultation with, and under the supervision of physicians to prevent and treat sports injuries and associated conditions. Includes instruction in the identification, evaluation, and treatment of athletic injuries and illnesses; first aid and emergency care; therapeutic exercise; anatomy and physiology; exercise physiology; kinesiology and biomechanics; nutrition; sports psychology; personal and community health; knowledge of various sports and their biomechanical and physiological demands; and applicable professional standards and regulations
IPEDS counted 708 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of athletic training/trainer degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.09 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Cardiopulmonary Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0915)
- Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0901)
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician (CIP 51.0910)
- Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0902)
- Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0903)
- Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) (CIP 51.0904)
- Gene/Genetic Therapy (CIP 51.0914)
- Hearing Instrument Specialist (CIP 51.0918)
- Hyperbaric Medicine Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0921)
- Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0922)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0920)
- Mammography Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0919)
- Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist (CIP 51.0907)
- Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0905)
- Orthopedic Technology/Technician (CIP 51.0923)
- Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist (CIP 51.0906)
- Physician Associate/Assistant (CIP 51.0912)
- Polysomnography (CIP 51.0917)
- Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician (CIP 51.0916)
- Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiographer (CIP 51.0911)
- Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist (CIP 51.0908)
- Surgical Technology/Technologist (CIP 51.0909)
How long does it take to get a athletic training/trainer degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0913 in our file:
- 115 Associate (4.1% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 708 Bachelor's (25.0% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 2,008 Master's (70.9% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Athletic Trainers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a athletic training/trainer degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Athletic Training/Trainer to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Athletic Trainers | 28,950 | $60,250 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 75,710 | $155,020 |
| Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | 43,640 | $39,270 |
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | 156,260 | $51,500 |
| Psychiatric Aides | 34,900 | $41,590 |
| Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | 205,230 | $54,660 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a athletic training/trainer degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions bachelor's program family: median debt $23,791, median earnings $70,786 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.39.
About 1.3% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $5,060 and median net price is $12,844.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Athletic Training/Trainer and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$5,060 Median In-State Public
$33,745 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Athletic Training/Trainer majors are, on average, $5,060 for in-state public colleges, and $33,745 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Athletic Training/Trainer programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Athletic Training/Trainer from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Athletic Training/Trainer.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,615 |
| 5 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,146 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Athletic Training/Trainer programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 5 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Athletic Training/Trainer programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | New Mexico State University-Grants | NM | $68 |
| 3 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 4 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 5 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Athletic Training/Trainer programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Athletic Training/Trainer programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Athletic Training/Trainer is in PA (68 completions). That state represents about 9.6% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is PR (0.20% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA | 68 | 9.6% | 0.04% |
| FL | 65 | 9.2% | 0.03% |
| PR | 60 | 8.5% | 0.20% |
| OH | 55 | 7.8% | 0.04% |
| KS | 46 | 6.5% | 0.12% |
| IA | 42 | 5.9% | 0.09% |
| AL | 34 | 4.8% | 0.05% |
| CT | 34 | 4.8% | 0.07% |
| NY | 32 | 4.5% | 0.01% |
| WI | 31 | 4.4% | 0.04% |
| MO | 29 | 4.1% | 0.04% |
| TX | 28 | 4.0% | 0.01% |
| NJ | 25 | 3.5% | 0.03% |
| NE | 24 | 3.4% | 0.08% |
| MI | 19 | 2.7% | 0.02% |
| AZ | 17 | 2.4% | 0.01% |
| WA | 16 | 2.3% | 0.02% |
| SC | 13 | 1.8% | 0.02% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.09 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Cardiopulmonary Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0915
- Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0901
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician CIP 51.0910
- Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician CIP 51.0902
- Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0903
- Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic) CIP 51.0904
- Gene/Genetic Therapy CIP 51.0914
- Hearing Instrument Specialist CIP 51.0918
- Hyperbaric Medicine Technology/Technician CIP 51.0921
- Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Technology/Technician CIP 51.0922
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology/Technician CIP 51.0920
- Mammography Technology/Technician CIP 51.0919
- Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist CIP 51.0907
- Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0905
- Orthopedic Technology/Technician CIP 51.0923
- Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist CIP 51.0906
- Physician Associate/Assistant CIP 51.0912
- Polysomnography CIP 51.0917
- Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician CIP 51.0916
- Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiographer CIP 51.0911
- Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist CIP 51.0908
- Surgical Technology/Technologist CIP 51.0909
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0913 in the survey year used in our extract (2,831 total across levels below).
- 115 Associate (4.1% of IPEDS total)
- 708 Bachelor's (25.0% of IPEDS total)
- 2,008 Master's (70.9% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $84,494. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Athletic Training/Trainer graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Athletic Trainers | $79,267 | 28,950 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $188,333 | 75,710 |
| Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | $53,312 | 43,640 |
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | $64,234 | 156,260 |
| Psychiatric Aides | $51,699 | 34,900 |
| Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | $74,559 | 205,230 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions CIP family (46 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Athletic Training/Trainer graduate.
- $23,791 median federal loan debt among completers
- $70,786 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.39 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 1.3% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$87,210 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Athletic Training/Trainer majors is $87,210.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Athletic Training/Trainer majors.
Occupations by Share
501,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Athletic Training/Trainer graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Athletic Training/Trainer by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Athletic Training/Trainer in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Athletic Training/Trainer.
Age distribution for Athletic Training/Trainer degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
708 Total Degrees Awarded
296 Male (41.81%)
412 Female (58.19%)
Gender distribution of Athletic Training/Trainer degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
439 White (62.01%)
142 Hispanic or Latino (20.06%)
48 Black or African American (6.78%)
30 Two or More Races (4.24%)
11 Asian (1.55%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Athletic Training/Trainer degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Athletic Training/Trainer are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Athletic Training/Trainer.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Athletic Training/Trainer field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Athletic Training/Trainer majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Athletic Training/Trainer majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Athletic Training/Trainer majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to work in consultation with, and under the supervision of physicians to prevent and treat sports injuries and associated conditions. Includes instruction in the identification, evaluation, and treatment of athletic injuries and illnesses; first aid and emergency care; therapeutic exercise; anatomy and physiology; exercise physiology; kinesiology and biomechanics; nutrition; sports psychology; personal and community health; knowledge of various sports and their biomechanical and physiological demands; and applicable professional standards and regulations
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Athletic Training/Trainer.
CIP Code
51.0913 - Athletic Training/Trainer
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $23,791 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $70,786, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.39. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Athletic Training/Trainer graduate.
Women earned 64.0% of 3,132 Athletic Training/Trainer completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $84,494. The largest mapped role by headcount is Athletic Trainers (28,950 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $5,060 in-state at public colleges and $33,745 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.