2025 Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Associate Degree Schools

Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #59 most popular associate degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 52 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Associate Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,139 associate degrees in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration during the <nil> academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good 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.

Average Early-Career Salaries

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration 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 heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration 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 heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Schools

The hvacr school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Associate Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Schools for an Associate in HVACR

1

Hennepin Technical College
Brooklyn Park, MN

27 Annual Graduates

$65,592 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration needs to take a look at Hennepin Technical College. Located in the suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Associate recipients from the heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration degree program at Hennepin Technical College earn $21,610 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Hennepin Technical College

2

Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Minneapolis, MN

15 Annual Graduates

$56,191 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration needs to check out Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Minneapolis.

Associate recipients from the heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration degree program at Minneapolis Community and Technical College make $12,209 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Minneapolis Community and Technical College

3

Chippewa Valley Technical College
Eau Claire, WI

11 Annual Graduates

Chippewa Valley Technical College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Chippewa Valley Technical College

4

Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI

11 Annual Graduates

Milwaukee Area Technical College is a good choice for students interested in an associate degree in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration. MATC is a large public college located in the large city of Milwaukee.More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Milwaukee Area Technical College

5

Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, IN

79 Annual Graduates

$57,323 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration associate degree recipients from Ivy Tech Community College receive an earnings boost of about $13,341 above the average income of heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration graduates.

More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Ivy Tech Community College

6

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Okmulgee, OK

36 Annual Graduates

$58,336 Median Starting Salary

Located in the distant town of Okmulgee, OSU Institute of Technology is a public university with a small student population.

Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration associate degree recipients from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology earn a boost of around $14,354 above the average earnings of heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration graduates.

More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology

7

University of Northwestern Ohio
Lima, OH

20 Annual Graduates

$42,690 Median Starting Salary

University of Northwestern Ohio is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Lima.

Soon after graduation, hvacr associate recipients generally earn around $42,690 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from University of Northwestern Ohio

8

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology
Lancaster, PA

56 Annual Graduates

$41,954 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Lancaster, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is a public college with a small student population.

Associate students who receive their degree from the hvacr program make about $41,954 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

9

Northern Virginia Community College
Annandale, VA

21 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Annandale, Northern Virginia Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from Northern Virginia Community College

10

State Technical College of Missouri
Linn, MO

39 Annual Graduates

$43,723 Median Starting Salary

Located in the rural area of Linn, STC is a public college with a small student population.

Associate students who receive their degree from the hvacr program make about $43,723 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a associate in heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration from State Technical College of Missouri

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Associate Degree Schools award.

Rank	College	Location
11	Pennsylvania College of Technology	Williamsport, PA
12	Wake Technical Community College	Raleigh, NC
13	Lone Star College System	The Woodlands, TX
14	Dunwoody College of Technology	Minneapolis, MN
15	Del Mar College	Corpus Christi, TX
16	Hudson Valley Community College	Troy, NY
17	Century College	White Bear Lake, MN

Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration by Region

View the Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Related Rankings by Major

One of 7 majors within the Mechanic & Repair Technologies area of study, Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration has other similar majors worth exploring.

HVACR Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician	2,139

Majors Similar to HVACR

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Vehicle Maintenance & Repair	16,706
Electronics Maintenance & Repair	1,558
Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance	1,541
Precision Systems Maintenance	1,017
Mechanic & Repair Tech (Other)	908
Mechanics & Repairers	247
Energy Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies.	54

Notes and References

• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.