2022 Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation is the 1140th most popular major in the country with 41 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

At the associate degree level specifically, there were 29 wildland/forest firefighting and investigation graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,082 and $17,678 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in wildland/forest firefighting and investigation. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great wildland/forest firefighting and investigation programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the wildland/forest firefighting and investigation program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for associate degree wildland/forest firefighting and investigation students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation (Income $0-$30k)

#1

Rio Hondo College

Whittier, California

#1 in overall quality

$4,797 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rio Hondo College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Whittier, California, and it awarded 4 associates’s wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degrees in 2019-2020.

RHCCD also made our “Best Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Associate Degree Schools” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Rio Hondo College is $4,797 for associate degree wildland/forest firefighting and investigation students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation at Rio Hondo College

#2

Central Oregon Community College

Bend, Oregon

#3 in overall quality

$8,428 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Central Oregon Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k. Central Oregon Community College is located in Bend, Oregon and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 associates’s wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degrees to qualified students.

COCC also made our “Best Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Associate Degree Schools” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $8,428 for Associate Degree Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend COCC.

Full COCC Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Report

#3

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, Colorado

#4 in overall quality

$8,861 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Pikes Peak Community College landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this fairly large public school awarded 1 degrees to qualified associates’s wildland/forest firefighting and investigation students in 2019-2020.

PPCC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Associate Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for PPCC is $8,861 for Associate Degree Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation at Pikes Peak Community College

#4

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$12,708 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Colorado Mesa University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k. Grand Junction, Colorado is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s wildland/forest firefighting and investigation degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

Colorado Mesa also took the #2 spot in our “Best Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Associate Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $12,708 for associate degree wildland/forest firefighting and investigation students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Colorado Mesa.

Read full report on Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation at Colorado Mesa University

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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