South Louisiana Community College Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
- Public college
- Lafayette, LA
- About 50 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
South Louisiana Community College allied health and medical assisting graduates earn less than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $22,058 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $9,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $9,500. Several Louisiana programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Louisiana and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, South Louisiana Community College graduates earn less than the national figure but about $1,283 more than the Louisiana median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Louisiana allied health and medical assisting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Louisiana 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 24% 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 $101 a month, or 5.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
98% of graduates (47 of 48) were working in Louisiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Lafayette area are about 13% below the national average, so a $22,058 salary here buys what about $25,293 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
$36,320Median pay in Louisiana. 12,310 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$44,410Median pay in Louisiana. 6,700 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$54,460Median pay in Louisiana. 3,790 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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
$57,370Median pay in Louisiana. 2,230 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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 South Louisiana Community College
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ranks 8th of 8 certificate programs at South Louisiana Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($62,184), Practical Nursing ($40,153), and Nuclear and Industrial Radiologic Technology ($40,042).
Other allied health and medical assisting certificate programs near Lafayette
Common questions
The median graduate earns $22,058 one year after graduating and $27,307 five years after. The median across allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in Louisiana is $23,540.
The median federal loan balance is $9,500, which ranks 6th lowest of 14 allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in Louisiana. That works out to about $101 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 43% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. Compare the cost with other Louisiana programs before deciding.
Most do. 98% (47 of 48) were working in Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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