Polk State College Health and Medical Administration (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Certificate in Health and Medical Administrative Services
  • Public college
  • Winter Haven, FL
  • About 7 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Polk State College health and medical administration graduates earn more than graduates of most health and medical administration programs nationally, $35,095 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $14,479 in federal loans, close to the national median of $10,875. It is one of the higher-paying health and medical administration programs in Florida.

First-year earnings$35,09588th percentile of 281 programs nationally
Median federal debt$14,4798th lowest of 14 Florida programs
Debt-to-earnings41%Florida median 42%, national 41%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Florida and national columns are the medians across all health and medical administration certificate programs that report the figure.

Debt and first-year pay at every Florida health and medical administration program

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

Polk State CollegeOther Florida programs

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 $154 a month, or 5.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

95% of graduates (35 of 37) were working in Florida one year after graduating. Prices in the Lakeland area are about 3% below the national average, so a $35,095 salary here buys what about $36,128 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 health and medical administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$64,360

Median pay in Florida. 93,850 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $43,720Top 10%: $101,670

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

$41,730

Median pay in Florida. 96,000 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 89,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $35,900Top 10%: $56,030

Medical Assistants

$43,680

Median pay in Florida. 66,110 people work in this job in Florida. 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%: $35,880Top 10%: $49,040

Computer User Support Specialists

$58,740

Median pay in Florida. 51,220 people work in this job in Florida. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 39,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,750Top 10%: $97,560

About Polk State College

Health and Medical Administration ranks 3rd of 3 certificate programs at Polk State College by first-year earnings. The others are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($60,894) and Criminal Justice ($53,333).

Other health and medical administration certificate programs near Winter Haven

Common questions

The median graduate earns $35,095 one year after graduating. The median across health and medical administration certificate programs in Florida is $31,398.

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 health and medical administration 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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