Federal Data — September 2026
Dental Assistant Schools: What They Cost And What Graduates Earn
Dental assisting programs leave among the lowest debt in allied health. Here is the federal data, and the schools with the strongest outcomes.
See The SchoolsU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 398 US institutions that report both figures, a dental assisting program leaves $9,500 of median federal debt and produces $27,096 of median earnings one year after completion. That works out at 4.6 months of gross pay to cover the debt, against a national median of 4.7 months across all vocational programs.
Dental assisting certificates carry lower debt than most health credentials, which puts their payback close to the national median despite modest starting pay.
Both routes exist in this field, and they are not equivalent. The certificate leaves $9,500 of median debt against $19,000 for the associate degree, with first-year earnings of $24,473 and $53,557 respectively. On payback the associate degree comes out ahead: 4.4 months against 4.8.
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
Dental Assisting at a glance
School By School
The 60 dental 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 | Savannah Technical CollegeSavannah, GA | Associate | 1.6 | $7,250 | $54,090 | 42% |
| 2 | Westchester School for Medical & Dental AssistantsArdsley, NY | Certificate | 1.8 | $3,666 | $24,390 | 100% |
| 3 | Pima Community CollegeTucson, AZ | Associate | 1.9 | $10,000 | $62,481 | 28% |
| 4 | Southwestern CollegeChula Vista, CA | Associate | 1.9 | $10,500 | $67,733 | 36% |
| 5 | Delaware Technical Community College-TerryDover, DE | Associate | 2.1 | $10,562 | $59,975 | 22% |
| 6 | Fox Valley Technical CollegeAppleton, WI | Certificate | 2.1 | $5,500 | $31,038 | 65% |
| 7 | Kalamazoo Valley Community CollegeKalamazoo, MI | Associate | 2.2 | $9,817 | $52,947 | 28% |
| 8 | Middlesex CollegeEdison, NJ | Associate | 2.3 | $11,250 | $59,451 | 33% |
| 9 | Virginia Western Community CollegeRoanoke, VA | Associate | 2.3 | $11,500 | $61,030 | 40% |
| 10 | Carl Sandburg CollegeGalesburg, IL | Associate | 2.4 | $10,374 | $51,566 | 50% |
| 11 | Western Iowa Tech Community CollegeSioux City, IA | Certificate | 2.4 | $6,165 | $30,735 | 50% |
| 12 | Springfield Technical Community CollegeSpringfield, MA | Associate | 2.4 | $11,372 | $56,883 | 32% |
| 13 | College of Lake CountyGrayslake, IL | Associate | 2.5 | $13,000 | $63,080 | 37% |
| 14 | Central Community CollegeGrand Island, NE | Associate | 2.5 | $11,000 | $53,860 | 48% |
| 15 | Pensacola State CollegePensacola, FL | Associate | 2.6 | $10,000 | $46,690 | 36% |
| 16 | Tallahassee State CollegeTallahassee, FL | Associate | 2.6 | $11,417 | $51,709 | 38% |
| 17 | Lewis and Clark Community CollegeGodfrey, IL | Certificate | 2.7 | $12,000 | $53,786 | 44% |
| 18 | Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestown, NC | Associate | 2.7 | $13,212 | $59,473 | 31% |
| 19 | Lake Area Technical CollegeWatertown, SD | Certificate | 2.7 | $8,250 | $36,631 | 73% |
| 20 | Lake Land CollegeMattoon, IL | Associate | 2.8 | $13,625 | $58,853 | 58% |
| 21 | Southeast Community College AreaLincoln, NE | Certificate | 2.8 | $8,491 | $36,408 | 38% |
| 22 | CUNY Hostos Community CollegeBronx, NY | Associate | 2.8 | $14,400 | $62,426 | 16% |
| 23 | Lakeland Community CollegeKirtland, OH | Associate | 2.8 | $11,200 | $48,254 | 24% |
| 24 | Salt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake City, UT | Associate | 2.8 | $9,357 | $39,676 | 29% |
| 25 | Dakota County Technical CollegeRosemount, MN | Certificate | 2.9 | $11,000 | $45,670 | 58% |
| 26 | Dakota County Technical CollegeRosemount, MN | Associate | 2.9 | $11,000 | $45,418 | 58% |
| 27 | Center for Instruction Technology & InnovationMexico, NY | Certificate | 2.9 | $6,711 | $27,400 | 71% |
| 28 | Lewis and Clark Community CollegeGodfrey, IL | Associate | 3.0 | $13,417 | $54,276 | 44% |
| 29 | Washtenaw Community CollegeAnn Arbor, MI | Certificate | 3.0 | $9,500 | $37,428 | 33% |
| 30 | Cuyahoga Community College DistrictCleveland, OH | Associate | 3.0 | $12,400 | $49,218 | 31% |
| 31 | Western Dakota Technical CollegeRapid City, SD | Certificate | 3.0 | $8,250 | $32,951 | 54% |
| 32 | Spokane Community CollegeSpokane, WA | Certificate | 3.0 | $8,631 | $34,974 | 33% |
| 33 | George C Wallace State Community College-HancevilleHanceville, AL | Associate | 3.1 | $9,125 | $34,837 | 51% |
| 34 | Santa Fe CollegeGainesville, FL | Associate | 3.1 | $14,875 | $56,722 | 53% |
| 35 | Des Moines Area Community CollegeAnkeny, IA | Certificate | 3.1 | $9,500 | $37,317 | 39% |
| 36 | Delta College IncCovington, LA | Certificate | 3.1 | $5,800 | $22,486 | 71% |
| 37 | Delta College-Slidell CampusSlidell, LA | Certificate | 3.1 | $5,800 | $22,486 | 62% |
| 38 | Colorado Northwestern Community CollegeRangely, CO | Associate | 3.2 | $16,784 | $62,148 | 34% |
| 39 | Georgia State UniversityAtlanta, GA | Associate | 3.2 | $15,100 | $56,474 | 53% |
| 40 | Northeast Iowa Community CollegeCalmar, IA | Certificate | 3.2 | $7,625 | $28,585 | 51% |
| 41 | Bluegrass Community and Technical CollegeLexington, KY | Associate | 3.2 | $13,378 | $50,045 | 43% |
| 42 | Hagerstown Community CollegeHagerstown, MD | Associate | 3.2 | $16,000 | $60,419 | 39% |
| 43 | Georgia State University-Perimeter CollegeAtlanta, GA | Associate | 3.2 | $15,100 | $56,474 | 22% |
| 44 | NHTI-Concord’s Community CollegeConcord, NH | Certificate | 3.3 | $10,813 | $39,278 | 29% |
| 45 | Delta College of Arts & TechnologyBaton Rouge, LA | Certificate | 3.3 | $6,000 | $21,546 | 65% |
| 46 | Career Care InstituteLancaster, CA | Certificate | 3.3 | $7,600 | $28,017 | 71% |
| 47 | Pima Medical Institute-AuroraAurora, CO | Certificate | 3.3 | $8,193 | $29,935 | 72% |
| 48 | Delta College of Arts & Technology-Lafayette CampusLafayette, LA | Certificate | 3.3 | $6,000 | $21,546 | 56% |
| 49 | Pima Medical Institute-PhoenixPhoenix, AZ | Certificate | 3.3 | $8,193 | $29,935 | 65% |
| 50 | Texas State Technical CollegeWaco, TX | Certificate | 3.3 | $6,584 | $24,017 | 46% |
| 51 | Rio Salado CollegeTempe, AZ | Associate | 3.4 | $12,786 | $45,744 | 9% |
| 52 | North-West College-Van NuysVan Nuys, CA | Certificate | 3.4 | $8,782 | $31,215 | 60% |
| 53 | Lansing Community CollegeLansing, MI | Associate | 3.4 | $14,136 | $49,832 | 25% |
| 54 | CUNY New York City College of TechnologyBrooklyn, NY | Associate | 3.4 | $15,527 | $55,457 | 21% |
| 55 | Milwaukee Career CollegeMilwaukee, WI | Certificate | 3.4 | $7,520 | $26,601 | 44% |
| 56 | San Joaquin Valley College-VisaliaVisalia, CA | Associate | 3.5 | $20,000 | $67,916 | 36% |
| 57 | Parkland CollegeChampaign, IL | Associate | 3.5 | $13,625 | $47,133 | 32% |
| 58 | Middlesex Community CollegeBedford, MA | Associate | 3.5 | $16,100 | $55,428 | 23% |
| 59 | Great Oaks Career CampusesCincinnati, OH | Certificate | 3.5 | $6,668 | $22,709 | 90% |
| 60 | Tulsa Community CollegeTulsa, OK | Associate | 3.5 | $18,500 | $63,224 | 28% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026), CIP 5106. 398 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 17 states have at least three ranked institutions each, covering 243 of the 398 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.