College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Certificate, aggregated across 213 colleges (213 of 213 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$31,479

Graduates only, early career.$31,964 two years out.

Median federal debt

$9,500

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.34×

34% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Certificate programs in Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) report early-career pay between $28,567 and $33,883 — a spread of $5,316 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $28,567 median $31,479 75th pct $33,883

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 213 colleges $31,479 $9,500 0.34×

Associate's 43 colleges $36,355 $16,126 0.36×

Where a Certificate in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Madison Area Technical College WI $54,373 —

Perry Technical Institute WA $52,264 $17,146 debt

Dakota County Technical College MN $49,357 —

Brownson Technical School CA $46,101 —

Capstone College CA $45,899 $9,500 debt

Industrial Management Training Institute CT $42,556 $9,500 debt

Motoring Technical Training Institute MA $41,695 $9,500 debt

Institute for Business and Technology CA $41,306 $9,238 debt

National Career Education CA $41,306 $9,238 debt

Lamson Institute TX $41,306 $9,238 debt

Porter & Chester Institute CT $41,210 $14,120 debt

YTI Career Institute-York PA $40,757 $8,404 debt

Minnesota State Community and Technical College MN $40,602 $5,500 debt

Pinnacle Career Institute MO $40,598 —

Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City MO $40,568 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR), from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard