Fire Science Programs That Really Pay Off

While the education itself is the most important part of obtaining a degree in fire science, the increase in pay or career prospects is a close second. Students want to enroll in programs that will make them high-caliber firemen and women, but they also want schools that lead to careers that pay well. In order to accommodate those desires, we've assembled this list.

We used only the most trusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics to create our list of the 90 fire science programs that offer great returns-on-investment. A graduate of any of the colleges and universities below who becomes a full time firefighter will annually earn five times the cost of one year of school.

For a more detailed description of how each school was identified, please read our methodology page.

Rank Name Salary Tuition Total Enrollment City State
1 Bunker Hill Community College $59,885 $576 17,853 Boston Massachusetts
2 Cape Cod Community College $59,885 $576 6,530 West Barnstable Massachusetts
3 Massasoit Community College $59,885 $576 11,685 Brockton Massachusetts
4 Middlesex Community College $59,885 $576 13,267 Bedford Massachusetts
5 College of San Mateo $69,910 $624 16,105 San Mateo California
6 College of the Sequoias $69,910 $728 18,665 Visalia California
7 Cisco College $52,055 $768 6,591 Cisco Texas
8 Antelope Valley College $69,910 $780 19,052 Lancaster California
9 Butte College $69,910 $864 17,877 Oroville California
10 Chaffey College $69,910 $864 25,455 Rancho Cucamonga California
11 College of the Canyons $69,910 $864 33,263 Santa Clarita California
12 Crafton Hills College $69,910 $864 8,379 Yucaipa California
13 Fresno City College $69,910 $864 32,524 Fresno California
14 Las Positas College $69,910 $864 12,675 Livermore California
15 Merced College $69,910 $864 15,155 Merced California
16 Mission College $69,910 $864 16,522 Santa Clara California
17 Modesto Junior College $69,910 $864 24,009 Modesto California
18 Lake Tahoe Community College $69,910 $936 5,785 South Lake Tahoe California
19 East Los Angeles College $69,910 $958 54,962 Monterey Park California
20 Los Angeles Valley College $69,910 $958 29,543 Valley Glen California
21 Amarillo College $52,055 $960 15,823 Amarillo Texas
22 Allan Hancock College $69,910 $1,008 19,552 Santa Maria California
23 Bakersfield College $69,910 $1,008 27,426 Bakersfield California
24 Cabrillo College $69,910 $1,008 20,424 Aptos California
25 Long Beach City College $69,910 $1,008 35,722 Long Beach California
26 Los Medanos College $69,910 $1,008 14,574 Pittsburgh California
27 Del Mar College $52,055 $1,224 17,098 Corpus Christi Texas
28 Cochise College $50,420 $1,512 16,192 Douglas Arizona
29 Eastern Arizona College $50,420 $1,600 10,426 Thatcher Arizona
30 El Paso Community College $52,055 $1,608 41,768 El Paso Texas
31 Austin Community College District $52,055 $1,635 77,953 Austin Texas
32 Arizona Western College $50,420 $1,680 13,344 Yuma Arizona
33 El Camino Community College District $69,910 $1,728 35,392 Torrance California
34 College of the Mainland $52,055 $1,800 6,235 Texas City Texas
35 Glendale Community College $50,420 $1,824 32,962 Glendale Arizona
36 Mesa Community College $50,420 $1,824 41,836 Mesa Arizona
37 Collin County Community College District $52,055 $1,830 41,650 McKinney Texas
38 Hill College $52,055 $1,848 6,371 Hillsboro Texas
39 Hillsborough Community College $56,330 $1,875 40,213 Tampa Florida
40 Brevard Community College $56,330 $1,892 25,283 Cocoa Florida
41 Blinn College $52,055 $1,944 25,552 Brenham Texas
42 Florida State College at Jacksonville $56,330 $1,995 49,670 Jacksonville Florida
43 Gulf Coast State College $56,330 $2,042 10,716 Panama City Florida
44 College of Southern Nevada $66,310 $2,078 61,662 Las Vegas Nevada
45 Kilgore College $52,055 $2,112 9,091 Kilgore Texas
46 Houston Community College $52,055 $2,160 92,869 Houston Texas
47 Angelina College $52,055 $2,220 8,020 Lufkin Texas
48 Lamar Institute of Technology $52,055 $2,256 4,120 Beaumont Texas
49 Aims Community College $58,030 $2,328 8,071 Greeley Colorado
50 Honolulu Community College $53,060 $2,328 6,519 Honolulu Hawaii
51 Chipola College $56,330 $2,365 2,963 Marianna Florida
52 Miami Dade College $56,330 $2,365 99,232 Miami Florida
53 Indian River State College $56,330 $2,376 26,197 Fort Pierce Florida
54 Coconino Community College $50,420 $2,490 6,991 Flagstaff Arizona
55 Edison State College $56,330 $2,508 24,097 Fort Myers Florida
56 Lone Star College System $52,055 $2,640 86,966 The Woodlands Texas
57 McLennan Community College $52,055 $2,736 14,610 Waco Texas
58 Daytona State College $56,330 $3,074 25,231 Daytona Beach Florida
59 Camden County College $60,150 $3,150 23,052 Blackwood New Jersey
60 Bellevue College $70,450 $3,152 23,059 Bellevue Washington
61 Monroe Community College $65,155 $3,240 34,824 Rochester New York
62 Community College of Rhode Island $50,900 $3,356 24,411 Warwick Rhode Island
63 Everett Community College $70,450 $3,451 13,768 Everett Washington
64 Chemeketa Community College $65,780 $3,465 22,782 Salem Oregon
65 Corning Community College $65,155 $3,870 6,740 Corning New York
66 Delta College $51,760 $3,900 16,944 University Center Michigan
67 Macomb Community College $51,760 $3,968 35,631 Warren Michigan
68 Kalamazoo Valley Community College $51,760 $4,092 17,572 Kalamazoo Michigan
69 Clover Park Technical College $70,450 $4,202 12,699 Lakewood Washington
70 Lincoln Land Community College $61,167 $4,296 14,666 Springfield Illinois
71 Lansing Community College $51,760 $4,740 31,462 Lansing Michigan
72 Bates Technical College $70,450 $4,905 9,052 Tacoma Washington
73 CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice $65,155 $5,130 18,040 New York New York
74 California State University-Los Angeles $69,910 $5,472 22,830 Los Angeles California
75 Eastern Oregon University $65,780 $5,603 6,021 La Grande Oregon
76 Columbia College $69,910 $5,679 30,588 Sonora California
77 Colorado State University-Fort Collins $58,030 $6,307 33,712 Fort Collins Colorado
78 College of Lake County $61,167 $6,524 31,045 Grayslake Illinois
79 Illinois Central College $61,167 $6,750 19,573 East Peoria Illinois
80 Montgomery College $56,555 $6,750 37,390 Rockville Maryland
81 County College of Morris $60,150 $6,840 13,936 Randolph New Jersey
82 Moraine Valley Community College $61,167 $7,380 31,301 Palos Hills Illinois
83 Joliet Junior College $61,167 $7,475 31,847 Joliet Illinois
84 McHenry County College $61,167 $7,766 11,541 Crystal Lake Illinois
85 Elgin Community College $61,167 $8,064 19,357 Elgin Illinois
86 Lewis and Clark Community College $61,167 $8,370 12,323 Godfrey Illinois
87 Harper College $61,167 $8,628 28,292 Palatine Illinois
88 College of DuPage $61,167 $9,157 48,128 Glen Ellyn Illinois
89 Grand Canyon University $50,420 $9,198 65,509 Phoenix Arizona
90 Lake Superior State University $51,760 $9,264 3,099 Sault Ste Marie Michigan