Polk State College Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
- Public college
- Winter Haven, FL
- About 54 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Polk State College diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn about what diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn nationally, $58,088 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $16,995 in federal loans, close to the national median of $18,592. It is one of the higher-paying diagnostic and treatment professions degrees in Florida.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Florida and national columns are the medians across all diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Polk State College graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Florida median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Florida diagnostic and treatment professions program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Florida 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 falls about 2% 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 $180 a month, or 3.7% 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
100% of graduates (56 of 56) were working in Florida one year after graduating. Prices in the Lakeland area are about 3% below the national average, so a $58,088 salary here buys what about $59,798 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 diagnostic and treatment professions, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
$76,750Median pay in Florida. 16,470 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Emergency Medical Technicians
$39,870Median pay in Florida. 6,060 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Physician Assistants
$129,620Median pay in Florida. 9,310 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Respiratory Therapists
$81,160Median pay in Florida. 8,820 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Polk State College
Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ranks 2nd of 5 associate's programs at Polk State College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($69,158), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($58,088), and Business Administration ($38,868).
Other diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs near Winter Haven
Common questions
The median graduate earns $58,088 one year after graduating and $56,740 five years after. The median across diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs in Florida is $52,968.
The median federal loan balance is $16,995, which ranks 12th lowest of 29 diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs in Florida. That works out to about $180 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 29% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Florida programs report higher pay.
Most do. 100% (56 of 56) were working in Florida 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 Florida 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 diagnostic and treatment professions 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