Trade College Rankings
Data-driven rankings of 2,789 trade and vocational colleges, powered by federal IPEDS data
Explore Our Rankings
Browse rankings by category to find the best trade college for your goals
Best Trade Colleges
Overall quality ranking
Comprehensive ranking of 2,789 trade colleges based on student outcomes, retention rates, program productivity, breadth, and institutional scale.
Best for Working Students
Flexible schedule ranking
Rankings of 1,565 trade colleges based on part-time completion rates, retention, and schedule flexibility for working students.
Most Diverse Colleges
Diversity & inclusion ranking
Rankings based on campus diversity, including ethnic representation, gender balance, and inclusion metrics from federal data.
Available soonBest by Program
Program-specific ranking
Find top-ranked schools for specific fields like welding, HVAC, nursing, automotive technology, and more.
Available soonBest Value
Return on investment ranking
Value-focused rankings balancing tuition costs, financial aid availability, and post-completion outcomes.
Available soonOur Methodology
How we rank schools
Our rankings are 100% data-driven and transparent. Learn about our scoring criteria, data sources, and the two-tier ranking system.
Top 5 Trade Colleges
Preview of the highest-ranked trade colleges in America for 2026
Lancaster County Career and Technology Center
Willow Street, PA | Public
MedQuest College
Louisville, KY | Private For-Profit
Concorde Career College-Garden Grove
Garden Grove, CA | Private For-Profit
State Technical College of Missouri
Linn, MO | Public
Northwood Technical College
Rice Lake, WI | Public
How Our Rankings Work
Transparent, data-driven methodology based on federal education data
Federal Data
All rankings use IPEDS data from the U.S. Department of Education - the most comprehensive source of postsecondary education data in the country.
Weighted Scoring
Each school is scored across 5 criteria including completion rates, student retention, program productivity, breadth, and institutional scale.
Two-Tier System
Schools with full outcome data are ranked in Tier 1 (1,048 schools). Those with partial data form Tier 2 (1,741 schools), ensuring fair comparisons.