Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Delaware Technical Community College-Terry

Starting salaries around $27,600 might seem modest for an associate degree, but Delaware Tech-Terry's liberal arts program actually outperforms most of its in-state competition—ranking in the 80th percentile among Delaware's general studies programs. That $27,598 beats the state median by over $6,800, a significant advantage when you're comparing community college options within Delaware.

The debt picture looks reasonable at just over $10,000, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.37. That's manageable enough to pay down within a few years, especially considering the two-year timeline to complete this degree. Nationally, this program sits right around the median for both earnings and debt, which is exactly what you'd expect from a solid community college option.

The major caveat here is the small sample size—fewer than 30 graduates in the data set—so these numbers could shift significantly year to year. But for Delaware families looking at associate degrees in general studies, this program appears to deliver better early outcomes than most local alternatives. Just understand that liberal arts associate degrees typically serve as stepping stones to bachelor's programs or entry-level positions, not career endpoints. If your child plans to transfer to complete a four-year degree, this represents an affordable start with relatively low debt burden.