Grand Rapids Community College Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
- Public college
- Grand Rapids, MI
- About 32 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Grand Rapids Community College allied health and medical assisting graduates earn more than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $32,171 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,210 in federal loans, less than at 89% of allied health and medical assisting programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying allied health and medical assisting programs in Michigan.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Grand Rapids Community College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $6,243 more than the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan allied health and medical assisting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.
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 11% between the first and fifth year.
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 $76 a month, or 2.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
97% of graduates (28 of 29) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Grand Rapids area are about 4% below the national average, so a $32,171 salary here buys what about $33,671 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
$39,870Median pay in Michigan. 27,810 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$44,340Median pay in Michigan. 14,240 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$61,260Median pay in Michigan. 10,000 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$63,320Median pay in Michigan. 3,840 people work in this job in Michigan. 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 Grand Rapids Community College
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ranks 9th of 10 certificate programs at Grand Rapids Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Industrial Technology ($70,622), Criminal Justice ($59,278), and Practical Nursing ($45,946).
Other allied health and medical assisting certificate programs near Grand Rapids
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,171 one year after graduating and $35,622 five years after. The median across allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in Michigan is $26,533.
The median federal loan balance is $7,210, which ranks the lowest of 9 allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in Michigan. That works out to about $76 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 22% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%.
Most do. 97% (28 of 29) were working in Michigan 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 Michigan 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