DENTAL ASSISTANT SCHOOLS IN ARIZONA — Federal Data, September 2026
Dental Assistant Schools in Arizona, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
16 accredited institutions in Arizona report enough federal data on this program to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 16 ranked programs in Arizona, the median graduate needs 4.0 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $9,456, against median earnings of $26,893 one year after completion.
That is faster than the national median of 4.6 months for this field, measured across the 398 institutions in our national dental assistant schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Pima Community College in Tucson, at 1.9 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Arizona institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about dental assistant schools in Arizona
The Ranking
16 dental assistant schools in Arizona, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pima Community CollegeTucson, AZ | Public | Associate | 1.9 | $10,000 | $62,481 | 28% |
| 2 | Pima Medical Institute-PhoenixPhoenix, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 3.3 | $8,193 | $29,935 | 65% |
| 3 | Rio Salado CollegeTempe, AZ | Public | Associate | 3.4 | $12,786 | $45,744 | 9% |
| 4 | Pima Medical Institute-TucsonTucson, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 3.7 | $8,509 | $27,301 | 72% |
| 5 | Pima Medical Institute-MesaMesa, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 3.7 | $8,509 | $27,301 | 67% |
| 6 | Carrington College-Phoenix NorthPhoenix, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.0 | $8,933 | $26,485 | 62% |
| 7 | Carrington College-MesaMesa, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.0 | $8,933 | $26,485 | 54% |
| 8 | Carrington College-TucsonTucson, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.0 | $8,933 | $26,485 | 66% |
| 9 | Brookline College-PhoenixPhoenix, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.0 | $9,412 | $28,295 | 53% |
| 10 | Phoenix CollegePhoenix, AZ | Public | Associate | 4.0 | $10,750 | $32,248 | 14% |
| 11 | Brookline College-TempeTempe, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.0 | $9,412 | $28,295 | 40% |
| 12 | Arizona College of Nursing-TempeTempe, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.9 | $9,697 | $23,827 | 89% |
| 13 | Arizona College-MesaMesa, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.9 | $9,697 | $23,827 | 88% |
| 14 | Arizona College-GlendaleGlendale, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 4.9 | $9,697 | $23,827 | 85% |
| 15 | UEI College-PhoenixPhoenix, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 5.7 | $9,500 | $19,904 | 57% |
| 16 | UEI College-MesaMesa, AZ | for-profit | Certificate | 5.7 | $9,500 | $19,904 | 50% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in Arizona, one by one
Pima Community College
Tucson, AZ
Pima Community College is a public institution in Tucson. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,000 and report median earnings of $62,481 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.9 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 2.1 months faster than the Arizona state median of 4.0. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 28% completion rate.
Pima Medical Institute-Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ
Pima Medical Institute-Phoenix is a private for-profit institution in Phoenix. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,193 and report median earnings of $29,935 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.3 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.7 months faster than the Arizona state median of 4.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 65% completion rate.
Rio Salado College
Tempe, AZ
Rio Salado College is a public institution in Tempe. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,786 and report median earnings of $45,744 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.4 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Arizona state median of 4.0. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 9% completion rate.
Pima Medical Institute-Tucson
Tucson, AZ
Pima Medical Institute-Tucson is a private for-profit institution in Tucson. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,509 and report median earnings of $27,301 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.7 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.3 months faster than the Arizona state median of 4.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 72% completion rate.
Pima Medical Institute-Mesa
Mesa, AZ
Pima Medical Institute-Mesa is a private for-profit institution in Mesa. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,509 and report median earnings of $27,301 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.7 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.3 months faster than the Arizona state median of 4.0. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 67% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other States
The same program, another state
Other Programs in Arizona
Comparing a different trade in Arizona
For ARIZONA School Operators
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