USA TODAY partnered with the research firm Statista to create the 2025 list of America’s Top Vocational Schools.
For decades, the value of a four-year college degree was indisputable. In fact, it was one of the few things Republicans and Democrats seemed to agree on.
In recent years, however, that bipartisan agreement about the traditional college experience has shifted toward a different type of post-high school education: trade schools.
“Our workers deserve more postsecondary pathways, career-aligned programs, apprenticeships and on-the-job learning,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon, a Republican, said during her confirmation hearing in February.
A year prior, Miguel Cardona, a Democrat who served as education secretary under former President Joe Biden, made similar remarks during a visit to his old high school.
“We have a ‘four years or bust’ mentality in this country, and a stigma around technical education,” he said. “Our kids are missing out if we don’t give them the full range of options.”
Vocational programs – in fields like welding, culinary arts and auto repair – have grown in popularity and size. Between 2020 and 2023, trade school enrollment jumped by roughly 5%, according to a 2024 report from Validated Insights, a higher education marketing firm.
In an April survey of more than 2,000 adults conducted by the American Staffing Association, 33% advocated for high school graduates enrolling in trade schools, while 28% recommended a four-year college or university.
By several accounts, short-term training programs that offer certificates are the fastest-growing type of postsecondary credential in the United States. However, it’s difficult to determine which ones are best, because research on vocational education, especially programs that last only a few months, can be contradictory and sometimes difficult to decipher.
Short-term programs can generate immediate earnings and jobs, according to a recent paper in the Economics of Education Review. However, the paper says those benefits fade over time and many certificate holders end up earning poverty-level wages, according to a 2021 study. Research from New America, a left-leaning think tank, suggests that the economic value of short-term certificate programs is often overestimated.
The shorter the program, the more controversial it is, too. For-profit schools, in particular, have developed a reputation in some circles for ripping off students with relatively expensive programs that do not provide the return on investment they promise.
Despite these obstacles, politicians have continued to prioritize vocational education, especially as the cost of traditional four-year degrees has become out of reach for many families in recent decades. As part of the major tax and spending bill signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, Congress expanded Pell Grants to career training programs as short as eight weeks. The legislation, which takes effect in July 2026, will make millions of taxpayer dollars available to education providers far beyond traditional colleges.
To help students navigate the trade school market, USA TODAY partnered with the market research firm Statista to create our first annual ranking of “America’s Top Vocational Schools.”
The rankings, developed by Statista in collaboration with USA TODAY, were judged on five primary metrics: graduation rate, graduates’ salary, years it takes to pay off net cost, social mobility and diversity.
Data on school performance was collected by Statista through publicly available federal databases. The schools were ranked on a star system and excluded if they were unaccredited, failed specific financial responsibility metrics or had a high percentage of graduates defaulting on their student loans.
Here is the 2025 list of America’s Top Vocational Schools:
