DENTAL ASSISTANT SCHOOLS IN MINNESOTA — Federal Data, September 2026
Dental Assistant Schools in Minnesota, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
9 accredited institutions in Minnesota 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 9 ranked programs in Minnesota, the median graduate needs 4.8 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $18,624, against median earnings of $45,942 one year after completion.
That is slower 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 Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, at 2.9 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Minnesota institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about dental assistant schools in Minnesota
The Ranking
9 dental assistant schools in Minnesota, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dakota County Technical CollegeRosemount, MN | Public | Certificate | 2.9 | $11,000 | $45,670 | 58% |
| 2 | Minnesota North CollegeHibbing, MN | Public | Certificate | 3.7 | $10,545 | $34,237 | 42% |
| 3 | Minnesota State Community and Technical CollegeFergus Falls, MN | Public | Associate | 4.6 | $17,500 | $45,942 | 47% |
| 4 | Rochester Community and Technical CollegeRochester, MN | Public | Associate | 4.7 | $18,500 | $46,805 | 29% |
| 5 | Lake Superior CollegeDuluth, MN | Public | Associate | 4.8 | $20,250 | $50,993 | 42% |
| 6 | Herzing University-MinneapolisSt. Louis Park, MN | nonprofit | Certificate | 5.4 | $18,624 | $41,499 | 47% |
| 7 | Normandale Community CollegeBloomington, MN | Public | Associate | 5.9 | $31,000 | $62,751 | 27% |
| 8 | St Cloud Technical and Community CollegeSaint Cloud, MN | Public | Associate | 6.7 | $25,592 | $45,787 | 45% |
| 9 | Century CollegeWhite Bear Lake, MN | Public | Associate | 7.4 | $29,300 | $47,789 | 31% |
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 Minnesota, one by one
Dakota County Technical College
Rosemount, MN
Dakota County Technical College is a public institution in Rosemount. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $11,000 and report median earnings of $45,670 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.9 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.9 months faster than the Minnesota state median of 4.8. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 58% completion rate.
Minnesota North College
Hibbing, MN
Minnesota North College is a public institution in Hibbing. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,545 and report median earnings of $34,237 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.1 months faster than the Minnesota state median of 4.8. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 42% completion rate.
Minnesota State Community and Technical College
Fergus Falls, MN
Minnesota State Community and Technical College is a public institution in Fergus Falls. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $17,500 and report median earnings of $45,942 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.6 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 4.8. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 47% completion rate.
Rochester Community and Technical College
Rochester, MN
Rochester Community and Technical College is a public institution in Rochester. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $18,500 and report median earnings of $46,805 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.7 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 4.8. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 29% completion rate.
Lake Superior College
Duluth, MN
Lake Superior College is a public institution in Duluth. Its dental assisting graduates leave with a median federal debt of $20,250 and report median earnings of $50,993 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.8 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and right on the Minnesota state median of 4.8. The award measured here is an associate degree. The institution reports a 42% 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 Minnesota
Comparing a different trade in Minnesota
For MINNESOTA School Operators
Want to know how your program ranks against these?
We run this analysis for individual schools against their own federal data and show them where they sit against both the Minnesota median and the national one. Where the answer is good, it is the strongest recruitment argument a school owns.
Book Your Free Enrollment AuditBy application only — reserved for trade and vocational school operators enrolling 50+ students a year.