City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
- Public college
- Chicago, IL
- About 211 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College allied health and medical assisting graduates earn more than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $35,140 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $11,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $9,500. It is one of the higher-paying allied health and medical assisting programs in Illinois.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting certificate programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois allied health and medical assisting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $117 a month, or 4.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
93% of graduates (78 of 84) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $35,140 salary here buys what about $33,921 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
$46,090Median pay in Illinois. 20,260 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.
Pharmacy Technicians
$46,650Median pay in Illinois. 21,340 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
$71,950Median pay in Illinois. 10,330 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.
Surgical Technologists
$64,650Median pay in Illinois. 3,570 people work in this job in Illinois. 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.
About City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ranks 3rd of 5 certificate programs at City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College by first-year earnings. The top three are Liberal Arts and General Studies ($36,908), Practical Nursing ($36,493), and Allied Health and Medical Assisting ($35,140).
Other allied health and medical assisting certificate programs near Chicago
Common questions
The median graduate earns $35,140 one year after graduating. The median across allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in Illinois is $31,918.
The median federal loan balance is $11,000, which ranks 9th lowest of 9 allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in Illinois. That works out to about $117 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 31% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%.
Most do. 93% (78 of 84) were working in Illinois one year after graduating.
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 Illinois 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
- 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
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024