Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at College of the Mainland

College of the Mainland's Liberal Arts associate program lands squarely in the middle of the pack—it performs slightly above the national median and ranks in the 60th percentile among Texas programs. Starting earnings of $27,368 are modest but typical for this degree type, and the $9,500 in median debt translates to a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.35. That means graduates owe about four months of their first-year salary, which is reasonable though not impressive.

The 21% earnings growth to $33,146 by year four shows steady progress, though this program still lags significantly behind Texas's top performers. Central Texas College and Austin Community College graduates earn $38,000-40,000 early in their careers—about $10,000 more annually than College of the Mainland grads. That gap compounds over a working lifetime and matters when you're calculating return on investment.

For families prioritizing affordability over earnings potential, this program works—the low debt load keeps risk minimal. But if your child is choosing between Texas community colleges for a liberal arts degree, understand that peer institutions are producing significantly better earnings outcomes with similar debt levels. This isn't a bad choice, but it's also not an optimized one for maximizing early career earnings in Texas.