Federal Data — September 2026
Medical Assistant Programs: What They Cost And What Graduates Earn
Medical assisting is one of the most widely offered credentials in the country. That makes the spread between schools unusually wide, and worth checking before enrolling.
See The SchoolsU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 840 US institutions that report both figures, a medical assisting program leaves $11,685 of median federal debt and produces $29,532 of median earnings one year after completion. That works out at 4.9 months of gross pay to cover the debt, against a national median of 4.7 months across all vocational programs.
More than eight hundred US institutions teach medical assisting, and the outcomes vary far more between schools than between states.
Both routes exist in this field, and they are not equivalent. The certificate leaves $9,500 of median debt against $20,167 for the associate degree, with first-year earnings of $26,897 and $36,018 respectively. On payback the certificate comes out ahead: 4.5 months against 6.6.
The table below ranks the individual schools. Every number is reproduced from the federal files, and the method is the same one behind our payback ranking of 58 programs and our ranking of 153 institutions.
The Numbers
Medical Assisting at a glance
School By School
The 60 medical assisting programs with the strongest reported outcomes
Filter by state. Click any column heading to sort. Lower is better.
| # | School▲▼ | Credential▲▼ | Months▲▼ | Debt▲▼ | Earnings▲▼ | Completion▲▼ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Community Career & Technical InstituteNewark, NJ | Certificate | 0.8 | $2,020 | $28,848 | 54% |
| 2 | Charles A Jones Career and Education CenterSacramento, CA | Certificate | 1.5 | $4,730 | $38,064 | 65% |
| 3 | American Institute of Medical Sciences & EducationPiscataway, NJ | Certificate | 1.6 | $3,971 | $30,657 | 88% |
| 4 | ASI Career InstituteTurnersville, NJ | Certificate | 1.6 | $4,271 | $31,485 | 98% |
| 5 | Westchester School for Medical & Dental AssistantsArdsley, NY | Certificate | 1.6 | $4,728 | $34,900 | 100% |
| 6 | Highline CollegeDes Moines, WA | Associate | 1.7 | $7,197 | $50,468 | 35% |
| 7 | Southeastern Technical InstituteSouth Easton, MA | Certificate | 1.8 | $5,500 | $36,469 | 74% |
| 8 | Coastal Pines Technical CollegeWaycross, GA | Certificate | 1.8 | $4,125 | $26,936 | 48% |
| 9 | Ventura Adult and Continuing EducationVentura, CA | Certificate | 1.9 | $4,992 | $31,821 | 97% |
| 10 | Del Mar CollegeCorpus Christi, TX | Associate | 2.0 | $7,000 | $42,057 | 11% |
| 11 | Davis Technical CollegeKaysville, UT | Certificate | 2.0 | $5,500 | $33,714 | 57% |
| 12 | California Nurses Educational InstituteRancho Mirage, CA | Certificate | 2.0 | $5,500 | $33,592 | 80% |
| 13 | New York Medical Career Training CenterFlushing, NY | Certificate | 2.0 | $4,526 | $27,131 | 92% |
| 14 | Universal Healthcare Careers CollegeLos Angeles, CA | Certificate | 2.0 | $3,500 | $21,444 | 91% |
| 15 | Advantage Career InstituteEatontown, NJ | Certificate | 2.0 | $4,856 | $29,373 | 82% |
| 16 | Sinclair Community CollegeDayton, OH | Certificate | 2.1 | $7,750 | $43,380 | 41% |
| 17 | Ogden-Weber Technical CollegeOgden, UT | Certificate | 2.1 | $5,500 | $32,114 | 53% |
| 18 | Georgia Northwestern Technical CollegeRome, GA | Certificate | 2.2 | $4,992 | $27,401 | 43% |
| 19 | Tulsa Community CollegeTulsa, OK | Certificate | 2.2 | $4,750 | $25,843 | 28% |
| 20 | Bunker Hill Community CollegeBoston, MA | Certificate | 2.3 | $8,607 | $44,141 | 13% |
| 21 | CET-San DiegoSan Diego, CA | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,528 | $32,056 | 87% |
| 22 | CET-San JoseSan Jose, CA | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,528 | $32,056 | 81% |
| 23 | CET-WatsonvilleWatsonville, CA | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,528 | $32,056 | 83% |
| 24 | CET-SalinasSalinas, CA | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,528 | $32,056 | 68% |
| 25 | Lewis and Clark Community CollegeGodfrey, IL | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,360 | $32,224 | 44% |
| 26 | Northern Essex Community CollegeHaverhill, MA | Certificate | 2.4 | $7,925 | $38,885 | 21% |
| 27 | Northcentral Technical CollegeWausau, WI | Associate | 2.4 | $10,796 | $53,523 | 45% |
| 28 | CET-OxnardOxnard, CA | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,528 | $32,056 | 42% |
| 29 | CET-Santa MariaSanta Maria, CA | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,528 | $32,056 | 77% |
| 30 | South Texas Training CenterPharr, TX | Certificate | 2.4 | $4,125 | $20,316 | 88% |
| 31 | Blackhawk Technical CollegeJanesville, WI | Certificate | 2.5 | $7,743 | $37,193 | 34% |
| 32 | Ace Institute of TechnologyNew York, NY | Certificate | 2.5 | $5,375 | $25,924 | 62% |
| 33 | Angeles CollegeLos Angeles, CA | Certificate | 2.5 | $6,404 | $30,301 | 93% |
| 34 | Columbiana County Career and Technical CenterLisbon, OH | Certificate | 2.6 | $5,850 | $26,707 | 75% |
| 35 | Perry Technical InstituteYakima, WA | Certificate | 2.6 | $7,892 | $37,096 | 79% |
| 36 | Moraine Park Technical CollegeFond du Lac, WI | Certificate | 2.6 | $7,779 | $36,255 | 58% |
| 37 | Manhattan School of Computer TechnologyBrooklyn, NY | Certificate | 2.6 | $4,900 | $22,213 | 70% |
| 38 | Milwaukee Career CollegeMilwaukee, WI | Certificate | 2.6 | $7,520 | $35,091 | 44% |
| 39 | Miami Dade CollegeMiami, FL | Certificate | 2.7 | $7,695 | $34,527 | 46% |
| 40 | Grand Rapids Community CollegeGrand Rapids, MI | Certificate | 2.7 | $7,210 | $32,171 | 21% |
| 41 | Central Coast CollegeSalinas, CA | Certificate | 2.7 | $7,580 | $33,709 | 67% |
| 42 | ATA CollegeEl Cajon, CA | Associate | 2.7 | $6,400 | $28,599 | 89% |
| 43 | Labette Community CollegeParsons, KS | Associate | 2.8 | $10,500 | $44,217 | 24% |
| 44 | Midwestern Career CollegeChicago, IL | Certificate | 2.8 | $7,521 | $31,998 | 54% |
| 45 | Unitek CollegeFremont, CA | Certificate | 2.8 | $7,790 | $32,827 | 73% |
| 46 | Bay Area Medical AcademySan Francisco, CA | Certificate | 2.8 | $9,139 | $38,505 | 52% |
| 47 | MTI CollegeSacramento, CA | Certificate | 2.9 | $7,295 | $30,707 | 77% |
| 48 | College of the SequoiasVisalia, CA | Associate | 2.9 | $14,000 | $57,242 | 39% |
| 49 | Mount Wachusett Community CollegeGardner, MA | Certificate | 2.9 | $11,079 | $45,300 | 24% |
| 50 | Montgomery County Community CollegeBlue Bell, PA | Certificate | 2.9 | $9,500 | $38,645 | 28% |
| 51 | Delta College SouthBaton Rouge, LA | Certificate | 2.9 | $5,945 | $24,585 | 58% |
| 52 | Mountainland Technical CollegeLehi, UT | Certificate | 2.9 | $7,250 | $30,437 | 84% |
| 53 | Gurnick Academy of Medical ArtsSan Jose, CA | Certificate | 2.9 | $7,857 | $32,143 | 64% |
| 54 | Unitek CollegeSouth San Francisco, CA | Certificate | 2.9 | $8,409 | $34,873 | 73% |
| 55 | Unitek CollegeHayward, CA | Certificate | 2.9 | $8,409 | $34,873 | 63% |
| 56 | Augusta Technical CollegeAugusta, GA | Certificate | 3.0 | $6,814 | $27,446 | 31% |
| 57 | Hunter Business SchoolLevittown, NY | Certificate | 3.0 | $8,164 | $32,814 | 85% |
| 58 | Orange County Community CollegeMiddletown, NY | Associate | 3.0 | $12,728 | $51,727 | 25% |
| 59 | Wenatchee Valley CollegeWenatchee, WA | Certificate | 3.0 | $9,626 | $38,841 | 43% |
| 60 | Carrington College-PortlandPortland, OR | Certificate | 3.0 | $9,500 | $38,395 | 54% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026), CIP 5108. 840 institutions report this program with both debt and earnings; the 60 with the fastest payback are shown. Debt is median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers; earnings are median earnings one year after completion; completion is the institution’s published rate.
Read It Carefully
What these figures do not tell you
It is a ratio, not a repayment plan
Months of gross pay to cover the debt is a way of comparing programs on one consistent basis. Nobody repays a loan with their entire gross salary.
Local wages move the numbers
The same program pays differently in different labour markets. Use the state filter and compare within a state before comparing across the country.
Only federal loan debt is counted
Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. A school whose students pay out of pocket shows low debt without being cheap.
One year out is an early snapshot
Trades where pay climbs steeply with experience are penalised by a first-year measure. Absence from the table usually means suppressed data, not a poor school.
Go Deeper
The wider picture
Related Reading
Before you choose a program
For School Operators
If you run one of these programs
By State
The same ranking, one state at a time
Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, so comparing programs inside a single state is more informative than comparing across the country. These 20 states have at least three ranked institutions each, covering 488 of the 840 in the national table.
Use This Data
Want your own program’s numbers against this benchmark?
We run this analysis for individual schools, program by program, against their own federal data. Where the answer is good, it is the strongest recruitment argument a school owns, and almost nobody publishes it.
Book Your Free Enrollment AuditBy application only — reserved for trade and vocational school operators enrolling 50+ students a year.