City Tech Dental Hygiene and Assisting (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Associate's in Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
  • Public college
  • Brooklyn, NY
  • About 73 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

City Tech dental hygiene and assisting graduates earn about what dental hygiene and assisting graduates earn nationally, $55,457 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $15,527 in federal loans, close to the national median of $18,589. Several New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$55,45753rd percentile of 180 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$51,5497% less than year one
Median federal debt$15,5272nd lowest of 9 New York programs
Debt-to-earnings28%New York median 36%, national 36%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all dental hygiene and assisting associate's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, City Tech graduates earn less than the national figure and about $2,609 less than the New York median. Several New York programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York dental hygiene and assisting program

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

City TechOther New York 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 falls about 7% between the first and fifth year.

City Tech grads, year 1$55,457
City Tech grads, year 5$51,549
All New York dental hygiene and assisting grads, year 5$54,158

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

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $165 a month, or 3.6% 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.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

87% of graduates (95 of 109) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $55,457 salary here buys what about $49,268 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 dental hygiene and assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Dental Assistants

$48,110

Median pay in New York. 19,800 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $36,410Top 10%: $60,490

Dental Hygienists

$106,130

Median pay in New York. 13,660 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 15,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $77,680Top 10%: $126,640

Dental Laboratory Technicians

$52,460

Median pay in New York. 1,890 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $38,580Top 10%: $76,010

About City Tech

Dental Hygiene and Assisting ranks 2nd of 8 associate's programs at City Tech by first-year earnings. The top three are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($78,548), Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($55,457), and Ophthalmic and Optometric Services ($29,187).

Other dental hygiene and assisting associate's programs near Brooklyn

Common questions

The median graduate earns $55,457 one year after graduating and $51,549 five years after. The median across dental hygiene and assisting associate's programs in New York is $57,035.

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 New York 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 dental hygiene and 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

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