Ridgewater College Health and Medical Administration (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Health and Medical Administrative Services
- Public college
- Willmar, MN
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Ridgewater College health and medical administration graduates earn more than graduates of most health and medical administration programs nationally, $40,206 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,902 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,019. Two other Minnesota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all health and medical administration associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Ridgewater College graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Minnesota median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota health and medical administration program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota 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 6% 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 $275 a month, or 8.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
100% of graduates (19 of 19) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Minnesota outside metro areas are about 14% below the national average, so a $40,206 salary here buys what about $46,832 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
$76,440Median pay in Minnesota. 21,690 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
$50,030Median pay in Minnesota. 16,860 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
Medical Assistants
$50,480Median pay in Minnesota. 10,580 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
Computer User Support Specialists
$63,630Median pay in Minnesota. 15,320 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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.
About Ridgewater College
Health and Medical Administration ranks 4th of 6 associate's programs at Ridgewater College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($59,082), Electromechanical Technology ($58,968), and Criminal Justice ($49,040).
Other health and medical administration associate's programs near Willmar
Common questions
The median graduate earns $40,206 one year after graduating and $42,713 five years after. The median across health and medical administration associate's programs in Minnesota is $40,206.
The median federal loan balance is $25,902, which ranks 2nd lowest of 5 health and medical administration associate's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $275 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 64% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 64%. Compare the cost with other Minnesota programs before deciding.
Most do. 100% (19 of 19) were working in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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
- 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