Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences at Holyoke Community College

Holyoke's health services program illustrates why Massachusetts students need to shop carefully even among community colleges. While this program beats the national median by $4,000 and keeps debt manageable at under $12,000, it lands in just the 25th percentile statewide—meaning three-quarters of comparable Massachusetts programs produce higher earners. The gap is stark: nearby Northern Essex Community College graduates earn $50,389, nearly $14,000 more annually for similar credentials.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.32 means graduates earn back their total educational debt in roughly four months, which sounds reasonable. But that calculation matters less when Massachusetts nursing and allied health graduates typically start near $46,000, not $37,000. For families choosing an in-state community college specifically to maximize value, that $9,000 annual earnings gap compounds significantly over a career. With 39% of students receiving Pell grants, these differences aren't academic—they're about whether lower-income students get the full earning power their field should provide.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could shift year to year. But the pattern—solid by national standards, underwhelming for Massachusetts—warrants looking at those higher-performing state alternatives before committing.