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2023 Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maryland
It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maryland ranking. This report analyzed 12 schools in Maryland to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
Top Trade Associate Degree Schools in Maryland
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Baltimore City Community College the best school in Maryland for trade school students working on their associate degree. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the small public school handed out 385 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $3,314 in tuition and fees if they attend Baltimore City Community College full time. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $7,394.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Baltimore City Community College does offer online classes for certain majors. During the 2020-2021 year, about 100% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Howard Community College is a great place for trade school students working on their associate degree. HCC is located in Columbia, Maryland and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,273 associate degrees to qualified students.
In-state students pay an average of $7,704 in tuition and fees if they attend HCC full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $9,459. On average, associate degree students take out $16,875 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at HCC. In 2020-2021 about 60% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent associate degree programs at Anne Arundel Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best trade school schools in Maryland. AACC is a public institution located in Arnold, Maryland. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,570 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from Maryland who attend AACC full time pay an average of $9,230 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $13,760. Associate Degree recipients from AACC accumulate an average of $13,044 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
AACC does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 82% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
The excellent associate degree programs at Prince George’s Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best trade school schools in Maryland. PGCC is located in Largo, Maryland and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,354 associate degrees to qualified students.
Students from Maryland who attend PGCC full time pay an average of $6,194 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $8,642. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $13,531 in student loans.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at PGCC. In 2020-2021 about 83% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent associate degree programs at Community College of Baltimore County helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best trade school schools in Maryland. Community College of Baltimore County is a fairly large public school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 1,813 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from Maryland who attend CCBC full time pay an average of $6,918 in tuition and fees. Out-of-state students pay an average of $10,062. Associate Degree recipients from CCBC accumulate an average of $16,045 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at CCBC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 68% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Chesapeake College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maryland ranking. Chesapeake College is a small public school situated in Wye Mills, Maryland. It awarded 212 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Chesapeake College is $6,344. Out-of-state students pay an average of $8,504.
One thing to take note of is that Chesapeake College does offer online classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 76% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Wor-Wic Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. This small public school is located in Salisbury, Maryland, and it awarded 291 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from Maryland who attend Wor-Wic Community College full time pay an average of $6,720 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $8,280. Associate Degree recipients from Wor-Wic Community College accumulate an average of $9,988 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
One thing to take note of is that Wor-Wic Community College does offer online classes in some areas. In fact, around 61% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Frederick Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in Frederick, Maryland, the medium-sized public school awarded 806 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Frederick Community College is $7,444. Out-of-state students pay an average of $9,844. On average, associate degree students take out $9,315 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Frederick Community College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 58% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #9, Hagerstown Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. HCC is located in Hagerstown, Maryland and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 599 associate degrees to qualified students.
In-state students pay an average of $6,390 in tuition and fees if they attend HCC full time. Out-of-state students pay an average of $8,190. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,414 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that HCC does offer online classes in some areas. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 81% took at least some of their classes online.
Montgomery College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maryland ranking. Montgomery College is located in Rockville, Maryland and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2,778 associate degrees to qualified students.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Montgomery College is $10,254. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $14,061. On average, associate degree students take out $12,263 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Montgomery College does offer online classes for certain majors. In 2020-2021 about 32% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
College of Southern Maryland came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Maryland ranking. CSM is located in La Plata, Maryland and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 910 associate degrees to qualified students.
In-state students pay an average of $7,200 in tuition and fees if they attend CSM full time. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $9,240. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $11,500 in student loans.
Online courses are available at CSM, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 91% took at least some of their classes online.
Allegany College of Maryland landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree trade school programs. Cumberland, Maryland is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associate degrees to 468 students in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Allegany College of Maryland is $8,720. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $11,060. Associate Degree recipients from Allegany College of Maryland accumulate an average of $17,028 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Allegany College of Maryland does offer online classes for certain degree levels. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 50% took at least some of their classes online.
Best Trade Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 12 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.