Compiled by PlainCollege, College outcomes data analysis
289
Schools
Associate's
Credential Level
$59,651
National Avg Earnings
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Mathematics
Mathematics is tracked across 289 U.S. postsecondary institutions in the College Scorecard field-of-study file, which links CIP code classifications from IPEDS to Treasury earnings records. This profile covers the associate's credential level specifically, because the Department of Education reports program-level outcomes separately for associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral awards. The CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) taxonomy lets analysts roll up specialties into broader families, which is why earnings medians across schools can be compared on a common basis.
Across all reporting institutions, the mean of school-level medians is $59,651, calculated from 13 schools with published earnings data. The earnings distribution stretches from $37,714 at the low end to $81,270 at the top, with a 25th-75th percentile band between $43,803 and $73,088 around a median of $61,557. The top-reporting institution in this program is Weber State University at $81,270. These numbers reflect Treasury-derived wages, deferred compensation, and positive self-employment earnings four years after completion for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled.
Variation across schools matters more than a single national figure. Completer counts and earnings cohort counts are distinct source fields, so the displayed completer count should not be assumed to be the earnings denominator. PlainCollege's debt-to-earnings ratio divides median federal debt by annual median earnings as a descriptive comparison; it is not the Department's formal gainful-employment test. Use the school-by-school table to compare reported outcomes while accounting for cohort size, suppression, program mix, and location.
San Jacinto Community College accounts for 27.0% of all Mathematics associate's credential graduates
That dominant concentration — well above the 5% national median for largest-entity share means Mathematics-wide averages lean heavily toward San Jacinto Community College's own figures, masking real variation among the smaller entities that make up the rest of the total. That school produced 124 graduates in the most recent cohort, anchoring a meaningful slice of national supply for this field. When one entity holds this much weight, its programmatic and budget decisions carry outsized influence over the affected population.
Mathematics associate's credential median earnings varies 2.2× across entities
Mathematics associate's credential median earnings ranges from $37,714 (lowest) to $81,270 (highest), a spread of $43,556. That spread reflects typical sectoral variation between selective research institutions and broader access institutions. Earnings are measured four years after completion using Treasury-derived records for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled. They are descriptive early-career outcomes, not forecasts of longer-term earnings.
Awards and earnings come from different reference periods, so they are not a count and an
average of the same people. Awards is the number of credentials the school reported for the
latest IPEDS year; median earnings is measured four years after completion, for a separate
pooled cohort of earlier graduates. A school can therefore report zero awards in the latest
year and still have earnings on record. The earnings figure is not the awards figure’s
average, and the awards count is not the earnings sample size. Schools are ranked on the
four-year earnings figure only, so every row is compared on the same basis.
Compare beyond the CIP family
Nationwide peers by school count & four-year earnings
Cross-field programs at the same credential level nearest Mathematics on school-count breadth
(289 schools) and mean four-year median earnings ($59,651).
Peers exclude the same two-digit CIP family so neighborhoods are not CIP-containment siblings.
School-count peers include Communication and Media Studies, Computer Science, Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. Earnings peers include Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians, Computer Programming, Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR).
Neighborhoods are forced disjoint so each axis surfaces a different set of programs.
Similar school count
Nearest programs (≥50 schools) by absolute school-count breadth, outside this CIP family.
Mathematics graduates earn $59,651 on average four years after completion, across the 13 of 289 schools that report earnings for this program. Earnings range from $37,714 to $81,270 depending on the institution.
Which school's Mathematics graduates earn the most? ▼
Weber State University has the highest reported median earnings for Mathematics graduates at $81,270, measured four years after completion in College Scorecard data. This reflects what graduates went on to earn, which depends heavily on who the school admits and which employers recruit there. It is not a figure the school pays.
What credential do you get in Mathematics? ▼
Mathematics programs typically award a Associate's credential. Earnings vary by school and credential level.
Top Schools for Mathematics
Closest schools offering this program – compare earnings side by side
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field of Study file retrieved in March 2026. The program metric displayed here represents federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled four years after credential completion, using Treasury-derived records published through the Scorecard. Completer counts and debt figures come from the same field-of-study snapshot; the Department refreshes components on schedules documented in its changelog, not one fixed annual date.