Which state pays medical laboratory science certificate graduates the most?

Florida, where the median program pays its graduates $26,579 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. Louisiana is next, at $18,674.

Which medical laboratory science certificate program pays the most?

University of North Dakota in North Dakota reports the highest first-year pay of the 62 programs ranked here, $65,073. Its median federal debt is $29,650.

How much debt do medical laboratory science certificate graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $11,084 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 35% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Medical Laboratory Science (Certificate) Programs in the US

65 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Certificate in Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median medical laboratory science certificate program in the US pays its graduates $31,984 in their first year and $35,035 five years after. Florida has the highest state median ($26,579), and Louisiana the lowest ($18,674). The median program leaves its graduates with $11,084 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$31,984Across 65 programs

Median pay after 5 years$35,035Across 73 programs

Median federal debt$11,084Across 63 programs

Debt-to-earnings35%Across 52 programs

All 62 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.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	University of North DakotaGrand Forks, ND · public	$65,073	Not adjusted	Not reported	$29,650	46%
2	Carolinas College of Health SciencesCharlotte, NC · public	$62,885	$66,668	Not reported	$25,250	40%
3	Hillsborough CollegeTampa, FL · public	$61,237	$59,215	$52,247	$14,500	24%
4	IU IndianapolisIndianapolis, IN · public	$58,316	Not adjusted	$61,865	$21,184	36%
5	Texas Tech University Health Sciences CenterLubbock, TX · public	$57,632	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Jefferson Community and Technical CollegeLouisville, KY · public	$49,401	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
7	North Seattle CollegeSeattle, WA · public	$49,101	$45,883	Not reported	$16,798	34%
8	MCI Institute of NJOcean, NJ · private for-profit	$48,897	$44,940	Not reported	$6,693	14%
9	Contra Costa Medical Career CollegeAntioch, CA · private for-profit	$44,990	$40,634	Not reported	$6,333	14%
10	Clover Park Technical CollegeLakewood, WA · public	$42,066	$39,309	$44,831	Not reported	Not reported
11	Erwin Technical CollegeTampa, FL · public	$41,375	$40,009	Not reported	$16,500	40%
12	Berkeley College-Woodland ParkWoodland Park, NJ · private for-profit	$40,999	$37,681	$43,176	$13,583	33%
13	Glendale Career CollegeGlendale, CA · private for-profit	$40,382	$36,472	$50,535	$8,971	22%
14	Saint Paul CollegeSaint Paul, MN · public	$40,232	$40,795	$36,556	$11,375	28%
15	Premiere Career CollegeIrwindale, CA · private for-profit	$39,459	$35,639	$39,208	$6,286	16%
16	H W Brewster Technical CollegeTampa, FL · public	$37,851	$36,601	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
17	Nashville State Community CollegeNashville, TN · public	$37,468	Not adjusted	Not reported	$14,125	38%
18	Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk, VA · public	$37,354	$36,946	Not reported	$11,856	32%
19	Hagerstown Community CollegeHagerstown, MD · public	$37,076	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
20	Linn-Benton Community CollegeAlbany, OR · public	$36,278	$35,098	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
21	MTI CollegeSacramento, CA · private for-profit	$36,215	$32,709	$42,482	$8,569	24%
22	All-State Career-BaltimoreBaltimore, MD · private for-profit	$34,909	$33,260	$39,411	$9,500	27%
23	Community College of Rhode IslandWarwick, RI · public	$34,786	$34,011	$35,616	$9,657	28%
24	Pima Medical Institute-AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque, NM · private for-profit	$34,373	$37,276	Not reported	$8,965	26%
25	Pima Medical Institute-AuroraAurora, CO · private for-profit	$33,825	$32,823	Not reported	$5,500	16%
26	Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCESLiverpool, NY · public	$33,804	$31,323	Not reported	$7,156	21%
27	Waukesha County Technical CollegePewaukee, WI · public	$33,784	$35,904	$37,450	$12,000	36%
28	Clark CollegeVancouver, WA · public	$33,570	$31,370	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
29	Midwestern Career CollegeChicago, IL · private for-profit	$33,466	$33,480	$36,106	$9,750	29%
30	Dutchess Community CollegePoughkeepsie, NY · public	$33,341	$30,894	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
31	Front Range Community CollegeWestminster, CO · public	$33,294	$32,308	$35,445	$14,063	42%
32	Fortis College-Orange ParkOrange Park, FL · private for-profit	$31,984	$30,928	$33,856	$10,854	34%
33	Dorsey CollegeMadison Heights, MI · private for-profit	$31,951	$33,207	$28,232	$15,402	48%
34	Virginia Western Community CollegeRoanoke, VA · public	$31,772	$31,425	Not reported	$5,919	19%
35	American National University-LouisvilleLouisville, KY · private for-profit	$31,462	$34,896	Not reported	$9,862	31%
36	Pima Medical Institute-TucsonTucson, AZ · private for-profit	$31,071	$30,862	$36,407	$3,167	10%
37	Fortis College-Baton RougeBaton Rouge, LA · private for-profit	$29,714	$33,687	$38,398	$10,522	35%
38	Horry-Georgetown Technical CollegeConway, SC · public	$28,964	$30,895	Not reported	$11,000	38%
39	Community College of Allegheny CountyPittsburgh, PA · public	$28,701	$29,415	$35,669	$9,435	33%
40	Northwest State Community CollegeArchbold, OH · public	$27,702	$29,860	$30,894	$11,084	40%
41	Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology (Delray Beach, Florida)Delray Beach, FL · private for-profit	$27,358	Not adjusted	Not reported	$10,250	37%
42	Institute of Medical CareersPittsburgh, PA · private for-profit	$27,151	$27,827	$28,197	$15,637	58%
43	City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X CollegeChicago, IL · public	$26,947	$26,958	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
44	Florida National UniversityHialeah, FL · private for-profit	$26,579	$25,702	Not reported	$8,250	31%
45	Atlantic Technical CollegeCoconut Creek, FL · public	$26,464	$25,590	$35,035	Not reported	Not reported
46	Miami Dade CollegeMiami, FL · public	$25,923	$25,067	$54,158	$12,329	48%
47	Miller-Motte College-ChattanoogaChattanooga, TN · private for-profit	$25,821	$28,106	$28,037	$14,562	56%
48	Brookline College-PhoenixPhoenix, AZ · private for-profit	$25,699	$25,526	$28,435	$13,599	53%
49	Unitech Training Academy-LafayetteLafayette, LA · private for-profit	$23,699	$26,867	$22,804	$9,500	40%
50	Piedmont Technical CollegeGreenwood, SC · public	$23,661	$25,239	Not reported	$16,950	72%
51	Ivy Tech Community CollegeIndianapolis, IN · public	$23,166	$24,822	$39,383	$11,302	49%
52	Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology (Altamonte Springs, Florida)Altamonte Springs, FL · private for-profit	$22,584	$21,838	Not reported	$7,925	35%
53	Orange Technical College-East CampusOrlando, FL · public · closed	$22,539	$21,795	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
54	American National UniversitySalem, VA · private for-profit	$21,951	Not adjusted	$29,061	$13,043	59%
55	Atlanta Technical CollegeAtlanta, GA · public	$21,444	$22,270	$42,476	$10,877	51%
56	Wiregrass Georgia Technical CollegeValdosta, GA · public	$20,208	$20,986	$26,452	Not reported	Not reported
57	Blue Cliff College-MetairieMetairie, LA · private for-profit	$18,674	$21,171	$28,278	$16,043	86%
58	Weatherford CollegeWeatherford, TX · public	$17,977	$18,522	Not reported	$9,875	55%
59	Infinity CollegeLafayette, LA · private for-profit	$17,516	$19,858	Not reported	$6,333	36%
60	Southern University at ShreveportShreveport, LA · public	$17,439	$19,771	$30,420	$11,125	64%
61	Bucks County Community CollegeNewtown, PA · public	$14,968	$15,340	Not reported	$5,271	35%
62	Daytona State CollegeDaytona Beach, FL · public	$14,958	$14,464	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

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 54 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 8, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

13 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One of these schools has since closed.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked. 3 more programs report pay but aren't listed, because College Scorecard's school file doesn't name their schools. The national medians above still count them.

Medical Laboratory Science (Certificate) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's medical laboratory science certificate programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Florida	11	$26,579	$10,854
Louisiana	5	$18,674	$10,824

Programs in 25 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

Lowest median debt

Infinity College, LA$6,333
Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology (Altamonte Springs, Florida), FL$7,925
Florida National University, FL$8,250
Unitech Training Academy-Lafayette, LA$9,500
Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology (Delray Beach, Florida), FL$10,250
Fortis College-Baton Rouge, LA$10,522
Fortis College-Orange Park, FL$10,854
Southern University at Shreveport, LA$11,125
Miami Dade College, FL$12,329
Hillsborough College, FL$14,500

Lowest debt for the pay

Hillsborough College, FL24%
Florida National University, FL31%
Fortis College-Orange Park, FL34%
Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology (Altamonte Springs, Florida), FL35%
Fortis College-Baton Rouge, LA35%
Infinity College, LA36%
Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology (Delray Beach, Florida), FL37%
Erwin Technical College, FL40%
Unitech Training Academy-Lafayette, LA40%
Miami Dade College, FL48%

Only the 12 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 medical laboratory science, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians

$62,930

Median pay in the US. 332,940 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 20,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,910Top 10%: $100,990

Phlebotomists

$45,230

Median pay in the US. 143,540 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $35,780Top 10%: $58,780

Surgical Technologists

$64,650

Median pay in the US. 117,460 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $45,940Top 10%: $96,940

Medical Equipment Preparers

$47,700

Median pay in the US. 77,420 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $36,410Top 10%: $69,950

Common questions

The median medical laboratory science certificate program in the US pays its graduates $31,984 in their first year and $35,035 five years after.

Medical Laboratory Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked94 programs by pay and debt

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

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