Louisiana·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1251

Best Computer Programmer programs in Louisiana, ranked by enrollment

Create, modify, and test the code and scripts that allow computer applications to run. Work from specifications drawn up by software and web developers or other individuals.

25 schools in Louisiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,188 people a year. The job pays a median of in Louisiana across about 1,580 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProgrammerAnalyst ProgrammerProgrammer AnalystComputer ProgrammerEngineerBeta TesterCloud EngineerJava Architect
Graduates / yr
1,188
in Louisiana
Median pay · Louisiana
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,580
people employed
Schools
25
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
45%
across those schools
Median net price
$33,106
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Louisiana that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

8 programs in Louisiana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Louisiana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Louisiana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0701In Louisiana
890
74.9%
17$70,374$23,250
2
CIP 11.0902In Louisiana
133
11.2%
9$43,901$22,822
3
CIP 52.1201In Louisiana
67
5.6%
2$59,352$24,618
4
CIP 11.0201In Louisiana
48
4.0%
2$46,719$20,729
5
CIP 11.0803In Louisiana
25
2.1%
1$33,504$27,000
6
CIP 11.0804In Louisiana
17
1.4%
2$33,504$27,000
7
CIP 30.7101In Louisiana
5
0.4%
3
8
CIP 11.0202In Louisiana
3
0.3%
1$46,719$20,729

Top 25 schools in Louisiana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 25 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 3 feeder programs
271Computer Science$58,69769%73%
2Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA Public · 3 feeder programs
171Computer Science$68,02364%86%
3Southern University and A & M College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
112Computer Science$45,90727%35%
4University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
108Computer Science$62,45253%87%
5University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
73Computer Science$69,20438%74%
6Northshore Technical Community College
Lacombe, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
57Cloud Computing$28,51840%
7South Louisiana Community College
Lafayette, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
51Computer Programming/Programmer, General30%
8Delgado Community College
New Orleans, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
46Cloud Computing24%
9Louisiana State University at Alexandria
Alexandria, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
42Computer Science34%92%
10Louisiana State University - Shreveport
Shreveport, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
30Computer Science$60,25938%51%
11Academy of Interactive Entertainment
Lafayette, LA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
29Computer Graphics100%$33,93143%
12Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
29Computer Science$90,82886%$33,10614%
13Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
27Computer Science$57,96145%99%
14McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
23Computer Science47%78%
15Bossier Parish Community College
Bossier City, LA Public · 3 feeder programs
19Computer Programming/Programmer, General15%
16University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
19Computer Science$60,71454%85%
17Baton Rouge Community College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
18Computer Science31%
18Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
17Management Information Systems, General$44,15354%91%
19Grambling State University
Grambling, LA Public · 3 feeder programs
16Computer Science36%45%
20Xavier University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Computer Science49%$19,76069%
21Louisiana Delta Community College
Monroe, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
8Computer Science30%
22Southern University at Shreveport
Shreveport, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
4Computer Science10%
23Central Louisiana Technical Community College
Alexandria, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
2Cloud Computing70%
24Louisiana Christian University
Pineville, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Computer Science44%$16,97177%
25Nunez Community College
Chalmette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
1Cloud Computing27%

All 25 schools in Louisiana

Every school in Louisiana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Louisiana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeBaton RougePublic2713
Louisiana Tech UniversityRustonPublic1713
Southern University and A & M CollegeBaton RougePublic1121
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLafayettePublic1081
University of New OrleansNew OrleansPublic731
Northshore Technical Community CollegeLacombePublic571
South Louisiana Community CollegeLafayettePublic512
Delgado Community CollegeNew OrleansPublic461
Louisiana State University at AlexandriaAlexandriaPublic421
Louisiana State University - ShreveportShreveportPublic301
Academy of Interactive EntertainmentLafayettePrivate not-for-profit292
Tulane University of LouisianaNew OrleansPrivate not-for-profit292
Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammondPublic271
McNeese State UniversityLake CharlesPublic231
Bossier Parish Community CollegeBossier CityPublic193

What computer programmers earn in Louisiana

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Louisiana
Mean annual
Jobs in state
1,580
Job concentration
1.38×

Concentrated here: Louisiana employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Louisiana

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
$77,730median
80 jobs
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
$74,090median
Lafayette, LA
$73,470median
Monroe, LA
$71,780median
50 jobs
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA
$71,590median
70 jobs
New Orleans-Metairie, LA
$77,220median
550 jobs
Baton Rouge, LA
avg
480 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-6.0%
Decline
Openings per year
5,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-7,200
121,200 → 113,900
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Computer Programmers page.

How to become a Computer Programmer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Active ListeningCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionWritingActive LearningMathematics

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Louisiana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 17 majors mapped to Computer Programmers17 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
  • 11.0202Computer Programming, Specific Applications
  • 11.0203Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification
  • 11.0204Computer Game Programming
  • 11.0205Computer Programming, Specific Platforms
  • 11.0299Computer Programming, Other
  • 11.0701Computer Science
  • 11.0803Computer Graphics
  • 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
  • 11.0902Cloud Computing
  • 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician
  • 30.3001Computational Science
  • 30.7101Data Analytics, General
  • 30.7103Data Visualization
  • 30.7199Data Analytics, Other
  • 51.0709Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant
  • 52.1201Management Information Systems, General

Common questions

Answers for people weighing computer programmers programs in Louisiana.

What degree do you need to become a Computer Programmer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 890 degrees in Louisiana in 2024-25, 74.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Programmer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, Management Information Systems and Services, Computer Programming, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 1,188 people a year in Louisiana.

Is demand for computer programmers growing?+

BLS projects a -6.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 5,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Louisiana?+

25 institutions in Louisiana reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do computer programmers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Programmer, Analyst Programmer, Programmer Analyst, Computer Programmer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1251.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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