American Career College-Los Angeles Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Associate's in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
  • Private for-profit college
  • Los Angeles, CA

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

American Career College-Los Angeles allied health and medical assisting graduates earn more than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $48,908 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 85% of allied health and medical assisting programs in the country. Several California programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$48,90888th percentile of 376 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$62,25427% more than year one
Median federal debt$27,00010th lowest of 16 California programs
Debt-to-earnings55%California median 48%, national 50%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting associate's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, American Career College-Los Angeles graduates earn more than the national figure and about $3,403 more than the California median.

Debt and first-year pay at every California allied health and medical assisting program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

American Career College-Los AngelesOther California programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 27% between the first and fifth year.

American Career College-Los Angeles grads, year 1$48,908
American Career College-Los Angeles grads, year 5$62,254
All California allied health and medical assisting grads, year 5$58,851

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$50,585Median debt $27,000
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$45,594Median debt $27,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 7.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 24 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $25,021.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

93% of graduates (105 of 113) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $48,908 salary here buys what about $43,066 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to allied health and medical assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Medical Assistants

$49,660

Median pay in California. 117,060 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 109,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $39,290Top 10%: $77,300

Pharmacy Technicians

$55,110

Median pay in California. 39,860 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 44,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $42,850Top 10%: $81,190

Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians

$76,010

Median pay in California. 29,210 people work in this job in California. 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%: $47,580Top 10%: $126,870

Surgical Technologists

$81,310

Median pay in California. 11,920 people work in this job in California. 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%: $49,140Top 10%: $115,740

About American Career College-Los Angeles

Allied Health and Medical Assisting ranks 3rd of 3 associate's programs at American Career College-Los Angeles by first-year earnings. The others are Nursing ($105,516) and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($55,379).

Other allied health and medical assisting associate's programs near Los Angeles

Common questions

The median graduate earns $48,908 one year after graduating and $62,254 five years after. The median across allied health and medical assisting associate's programs in California is $52,607.

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
  • Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
  • Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
  • School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the allied health and medical assisting program.

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. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Related pages