TL;DR

Community College Administration maps to BLS occupations averaging about $85,145, with roughly 539,480 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $10,240; common paths include Community Health Workers and Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other.

Key Statistics

$10,240
Median In-State Public Tuition
$37,800
Median Out-of-State Private Tuition
$85,145
Avg. Wage (related occupations)
539,480
Workers (related occupations)

Community College Administration: what the data shows

Common questions about community college administration degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a community college administration degree?

A Community College Administration program is classified under NCES CIP 13.0407 in the Educational Administration and Supervision field family (13.04).

A program that focuses on the principles and techniques of administering community and junior colleges and related postsecondary systems, the study of community and junior colleges as objects of applied research, and that may prepare individuals to function as administrators in such settings. Includes instruction in community and junior college finance; policy and planning studies; curriculum; faculty and labor relations; higher education law; student services; research on community and junior colleges; institutional research; marketing and promotion; and issues of evaluation, accountability and philosophy

Types of community college administration degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 13.04 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

How long does it take to get a community college administration degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 13.0407 in our file:

  • 121 Master's (99.2% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
  • 1 Doctorate (0.8% of IPEDS total)—varies by program

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 Community Health Workers (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 community college administration degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Community College Administration to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

OccupationU.S. employmentMedian annual wage
Community Health Workers60,730$51,030
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other110,390$54,940
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians136,390$78,680
Computer Hardware Engineers75,710$155,020
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters43,640$39,270
Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs156,260$51,500

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a community college administration degree worth it?

College Scorecard national medians for the Educational Administration and Supervision bachelor's program family: median debt $12,928, median earnings $47,433 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.34.

About 4.3% 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 $10,240 and median net price is $18,551.

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 Community College Administration and the types of students that study this field.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$10,240 Median In-State Public

$37,800 Median Out of State Private

Tuition costs for Community College Administration majors are, on average, $10,240 for in-state public colleges, and $37,800 for out of state private colleges.

Tuition costs comparison for Community College Administration programs.

Degrees Awarded Over Time

100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Community College Administration from 2015 to 2023.

Historical trend of degrees awarded in Community College Administration.

Top 5 Schools by Enrollment

Schools with the largest enrollment offering Community College Administration programs.

Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition

Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Community College Administration programs.

Top 5 Lowest Net Price

Schools with the lowest average net price for Community College Administration programs.

Graduation Rates

Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.

Graduation/completion rates for Community College Administration programs across institutions.

Related specializations

Other NCES program codes in the 13.04 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.

Degree Levels (IPEDS)

Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 13.0407 in the survey year used in our extract (122 total across levels below).

  • 121 Master's (99.2% of IPEDS total)
  • 1 Doctorate (0.8% 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 $85,145. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Community College Administration graduates alone.

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 Educational Administration and Supervision CIP family (12 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Community College Administration graduate.

  • $12,928 median federal loan debt among completers
  • $47,433 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
  • 0.34 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
  • 4.3% 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

$87,720 Average Wage in Workforce

The average salary for Community College Administration majors is $87,720.

Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Community College Administration majors.

Occupations by Share

539,480 2023 Workforce

The number of Community College Administration graduates in the workforce has been growing.

Various jobs filled by those with a major in Community College Administration by share of the total number of graduates.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Community College Administration in the United States.

Workforce Age

N/A Average Age in 2023

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Community College Administration.

Age distribution for Community College Administration degree holders in the workforce.

Gender Distribution

335 Total Degrees Awarded

104 Male (31.04%)

231 Female (68.96%)

Gender distribution of Community College Administration degree recipients.

Race and Ethnicity Distribution

137 White (40.90%)

86 Black or African American (25.67%)

64 Hispanic or Latino (19.10%)

19 Asian (5.67%)

9 Two or More Races (2.69%)

Racial and ethnic distribution of Community College Administration degree recipients.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Community College Administration are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Distribution of degree types awarded in Community College Administration.

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Community College Administration field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Required Skills

Community College Administration majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.

Rating of how necessary various skills are for Community College Administration 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 Community College Administration majors.

About

A program that focuses on the principles and techniques of administering community and junior colleges and related postsecondary systems, the study of community and junior colleges as objects of applied research, and that may prepare individuals to function as administrators in such settings. Includes instruction in community and junior college finance; policy and planning studies; curriculum; faculty and labor relations; higher education law; student services; research on community and junior colleges; institutional research; marketing and promotion; and issues of evaluation, accountability and philosophy

In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Community College Administration.

CIP Code

13.0407 - Community College Administration

What the data shows

At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $12,928 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $47,433, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.34. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Community College Administration graduate.

Women earned 69.0% of 335 Community College Administration completions in the IPEDS file used here.

Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $85,145. The largest mapped role by headcount is Community Health Workers (60,730 U.S. jobs in OEWS).

Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $10,240 in-state at public colleges and $37,800 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.