Highest-Paying Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's) Programs in the US

  • 496 programs report first-year pay
  • 30 state rankings
  • Associate's in Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median diagnostic and treatment professions associate's program in the US pays its graduates $54,570 in their first year and $59,487 five years after. Oregon has the highest state median ($66,446), and Mississippi the lowest ($45,024). The median program leaves its graduates with $18,592 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$54,570Across 496 programs
Median pay after 5 years$59,487Across 470 programs
Median federal debt$18,592Across 422 programs
Debt-to-earnings34%Across 408 programs

All 479 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 445 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 34, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

88 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked. 16 more programs report pay but aren't listed, because College Scorecard's school file doesn't name their schools. One more reports one combined figure for campuses in several states, so it isn't listed. The national medians above still count them.

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

Programs in 19 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Only the 344 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to diagnostic and treatment professions, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Radiologic Technologists and Technicians

$80,110

Median pay in the US. 230,490 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $55,980Top 10%: $118,660

Emergency Medical Technicians

$44,470

Median pay in the US. 180,510 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $34,130Top 10%: $62,500

Physician Assistants

$135,880

Median pay in the US. 162,150 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $99,380Top 10%: $190,280

Respiratory Therapists

$82,280

Median pay in the US. 139,790 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $63,660Top 10%: $118,050

Common questions

The median diagnostic and treatment professions associate's program in the US pays its graduates $54,570 in their first year and $59,487 five years after.

Related pages

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
  • National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
  • Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
  • Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
  5. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024