Ranked #13 in popularity, accounting is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Accounting Associate Degree Schools in New Jersey ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 174 associate degrees in accounting to qualified students.
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Choosing a Great Accounting School for Your Associate Degree
The accounting associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to accounting students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of accounting students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt accounting students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized accounting related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for accounting students working on their associate degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Accounting Associate Degree Schools in New Jersey list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Essex County College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in accounting. Located in the large city of Newark, Essex is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
After graduating, accounting associate recipients usually earn about $29,026 in their early careers.
Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in accounting has to look into Hudson County Community College. Located in the large city of Jersey City, HCCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Associate graduates who receive their degree from the accounting program earn around $28,818 in the first couple years of working.
Every student who is interested in an associate degree in accounting needs to check out Union County College. Located in the large suburb of Cranford, Union County College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in accounting from Union County College
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
The accounting associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
