Which Arkansas diagnostic and treatment professions program has the lowest debt?

Black River Technical College reports the lowest median federal debt, $11,154, with first-year pay of $40,193.

How much do diagnostic and treatment professions graduates earn in Arkansas?

The median across 8 Arkansas diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs is $48,927 in the first year after graduating and $53,029 five years after.

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's) Programs in Arkansas, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs are in Arkansas?

8 Arkansas programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

8 programs report first-year pay
7 also report federal debt
Associate's in Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Arkansas diagnostic and treatment professions associate's program pays its graduates $48,927 in their first year, $5,643 less than the national median. Arkansas Tech University reports the highest first-year pay ($64,185), and Black River Technical College the lowest median debt ($11,154).

Median first-year pay$48,927National $54,570

Median pay after 5 years$53,029National $59,487

Median federal debt$15,500National $18,592

Debt-to-earnings28%National 34%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville · public	$64,185	Not reported	$18,291	28%
2	University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical CollegeNorth Little Rock · public	$62,098	Not reported	$21,250	34%
3	NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonville · public	$59,189	$48,905	$15,500	26%
4	University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesLittle Rock · public	$49,833	$58,097	$24,625	49%
5	National Park CollegeHot Springs · public	$48,020	$64,984	$13,773	29%
6	University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith · public	$45,967	$34,796	$12,491	27%
7	North Arkansas CollegeHarrison · public	$44,879	$48,559	Not reported	Not reported
8	Black River Technical CollegePocahontas · public	$40,193	$52,489	$11,154	28%

North Arkansas College reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas diagnostic and treatment professions program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Arkansas Tech University$64,185
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College$62,098
NorthWest Arkansas Community College$59,189
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences$49,833
National Park College$48,020

Lowest median debt

Black River Technical College$11,154
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith$12,491
National Park College$13,773
NorthWest Arkansas Community College$15,500
Arkansas Tech University$18,291

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$63,640

Median pay in Arkansas. 2,210 people work in this job in Arkansas. 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.

Bottom 10%: $46,810Top 10%: $94,180

Emergency Medical Technicians

$36,230

Median pay in Arkansas. 1,120 people work in this job in Arkansas. 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.

Bottom 10%: $28,370Top 10%: $49,910

Physician Assistants

$118,430

Median pay in Arkansas. 850 people work in this job in Arkansas. 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.

Bottom 10%: $88,160Top 10%: $159,080

Respiratory Therapists

$73,870

Median pay in Arkansas. 1,400 people work in this job in Arkansas. 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.

Bottom 10%: $59,550Top 10%: $93,480

Common questions

Arkansas Tech University in Russellville reports the highest median first-year pay, $64,185. Its median federal debt is $18,291.

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked496 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 Arkansas rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024