Which California allied health and medical assisting program has the lowest debt?

ATA College (California) reports the lowest median federal debt, $6,400, with first-year pay of $28,599.

How much do allied health and medical assisting graduates earn in California?

The median across 16 California allied health and medical assisting associate's programs is $52,607 in the first year after graduating and $58,851 five years after.

Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Associate's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many allied health and medical assisting associate's programs are in California?

16 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 16 of them also report federal debt.

16 programs report first-year pay
16 also report federal debt
Associate's in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California allied health and medical assisting associate's program pays its graduates $52,607 in their first year, $15,351 more than the national median. Carrington College-Sacramento reports the highest first-year pay ($61,881), and ATA College (California) the lowest median debt ($6,400).

Median first-year pay$52,607National $37,256

Median pay after 5 years$58,851National $41,892

Median federal debt$20,000National $19,000

Debt-to-earnings48%National 50%

All 16 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	Carrington College-SacramentoSacramento · private for-profit	$61,881	$48,293	$29,755	48%
2	Loma Linda UniversityLoma Linda · private nonprofit	$60,043	$59,567	$16,500	27%
3	Concorde Career College-Garden GroveGarden Grove · private for-profit	$59,559	$61,882	$29,750	50%
4	Institute of Technology (California)Clovis · private for-profit	$59,548	Not reported	$26,064	44%
5	Gurnick Academy of Medical ArtsSan Jose · private for-profit	$58,718	Not reported	$14,785	25%
6	College of the SequoiasVisalia · public	$57,242	$62,876	$14,000	24%
7	Casa Loma College-Los AngelesSherman Oaks · private nonprofit	$56,092	Not reported	$27,291	49%
8	CBD CollegeLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$52,829	Not reported	$20,000	38%
9	Concorde Career College-San DiegoSan Diego · private for-profit	$52,385	$65,984	$27,000	52%
10	Concorde Career College-North HollywoodNorth Hollywood · private for-profit	$50,613	$70,113	$27,000	53%
11	Stanbridge UniversityIrvine · private for-profit	$50,198	$66,101	$30,764	61%
12	Sacramento City CollegeSacramento · public	$48,969	$57,611	$15,008	31%
13	American Career College-Los AngelesLos Angeles · private for-profit	$48,908	$62,254	$27,000	55%
14	Santa Ana CollegeSanta Ana · public	$28,687	$56,371	$13,735	48%
15	ATA College (California)El Cajon · private for-profit	$28,599	Not reported	$6,400	22%
16	San Joaquin Valley College-VisaliaVisalia · private for-profit	$27,132	$33,232	$19,000	70%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every California allied health and medical assisting program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 16 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Carrington College-Sacramento$61,881
Loma Linda University$60,043
Concorde Career College-Garden Grove$59,559
Institute of Technology (California)$59,548
Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts$58,718

Lowest median debt

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 allied health and medical assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Medical Assistants

$49,660

Median pay in California. 117,060 people work in this job in California. 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%: $39,290Top 10%: $77,300

Pharmacy Technicians

$55,110

Median pay in California. 39,860 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $42,850Top 10%: $81,190

Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians

$76,010

Median pay in California. 29,210 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $47,580Top 10%: $126,870

Surgical Technologists

$81,310

Median pay in California. 11,920 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $49,140Top 10%: $115,740

Common questions

Carrington College-Sacramento in Sacramento reports the highest median first-year pay, $61,881. Its median federal debt is $29,755.

Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked376 programs by pay and debt Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Certificate) programs in California, ranked55 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 California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the allied health and medical assisting 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