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

Universal Healthcare Careers College reports the lowest median federal debt, $3,500, with first-year pay of $21,444.

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

The median across 55 California allied health and medical assisting certificate programs is $27,458 in the first year after graduating and $32,710 five years after.

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

Q: How many allied health and medical assisting certificate programs are in California?

55 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 49 of them also report federal debt.

55 programs report first-year pay
49 also report federal debt
Certificate 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 certificate program pays its graduates $27,458 in their first year, $624 less than the national median. Bay Area Medical Academy reports the highest first-year pay ($38,505), and Universal Healthcare Careers College the lowest median debt ($3,500).

Median first-year pay$27,458National $28,082

Median pay after 5 years$32,710National $32,287

Median federal debt$9,500National $9,500

Debt-to-earnings33%National 36%

All 55 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	Bay Area Medical AcademySan Francisco · private for-profit	$38,505	$55,876	$9,139	24%
2	Charles A Jones Career and Education CenterSacramento · public	$38,064	Not reported	$4,730	12%
3	Cabrillo CollegeAptos · public	$37,279	$35,217	Not reported	Not reported
4	Unitek College (Hayward, California)Hayward · private for-profit	$34,873	$37,175	$8,409	24%
5	Fresno City CollegeFresno · public	$33,838	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Central Coast CollegeSalinas · private for-profit	$33,709	Not reported	$7,580	22%
7	California Nurses Educational InstituteRancho Mirage · private for-profit	$33,592	Not reported	$5,500	16%
8	Unitek College (Fremont, California)Fremont · private for-profit	$32,827	$41,978	$7,790	24%
9	Carrington College-SacramentoSacramento · private for-profit	$32,311	$36,574	$9,126	28%
10	Gurnick Academy of Medical ArtsSan Jose · private for-profit	$32,143	$49,302	$7,857	24%
11	CET-San JoseSan Jose · private nonprofit	$32,056	$33,140	$6,528	20%
12	Ventura Adult and Continuing EducationVentura · public	$31,821	Not reported	$4,992	16%
13	North-West College-Van NuysVan Nuys · private for-profit	$31,536	$32,710	$9,412	30%
14	Concorde Career College-San DiegoSan Diego · private for-profit	$30,842	$32,607	$9,500	31%
15	MTI CollegeSacramento · private for-profit	$30,707	$37,992	$7,295	24%
16	Concorde Career College-North HollywoodNorth Hollywood · private for-profit	$30,568	$36,113	$9,500	31%
17	North-West College-West CovinaWest Covina · private for-profit	$30,358	$32,632	$9,500	31%
18	Angeles CollegeLos Angeles · private for-profit	$30,301	$32,086	$6,404	21%
19	CBD CollegeLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$29,808	$31,422	$7,600	25%
20	Downey Adult SchoolDowney · public	$29,694	$34,359	$9,009	30%
21	Mayfield CollegeCathedral City · private for-profit	$28,928	$28,632	$9,025	31%
22	American Career College-Los AngelesLos Angeles · private for-profit	$28,853	$32,828	$9,500	33%
23	North-West College-PomonaPomona · private for-profit	$28,420	$33,012	$9,500	33%
24	Santa Ana CollegeSanta Ana · public	$28,200	$34,449	$11,000	39%
25	InterCoast Colleges-West CovinaWest Covina · private for-profit	$27,880	$37,075	$9,500	34%
26	Sutter County Career Training CenterYuba City · public	$27,791	$36,633	$9,500	34%
27	Milan Institute-VisaliaVisalia · private for-profit	$27,459	$31,930	$8,124	30%
28	Institute of Technology (California)Clovis · private for-profit	$27,458	$30,652	$9,500	35%
29	Asher CollegeSacramento · private for-profit	$27,105	$32,822	$12,392	46%
30	San Joaquin Valley College-VisaliaVisalia · private for-profit	$26,897	$30,548	$10,269	38%
31	Institute for Business and TechnologySan Jose · private for-profit	$26,882	$42,847	$9,500	35%
32	Riverside County Office of Education-School of Career EducationRiverside · public	$26,599	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
33	Career Care InstituteLancaster · private for-profit	$26,403	$33,638	$7,600	29%
34	Concorde Career College-Garden GroveGarden Grove · private for-profit	$26,287	$34,039	$9,500	36%
35	Clovis Adult EducationClovis · public	$26,208	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
36	Glendale Career CollegeGlendale · private for-profit	$26,106	$23,597	$9,319	36%
37	Career Networks InstituteSanta Ana · private for-profit	$25,973	$35,326	$9,500	37%
38	American Career College-OntarioOntario · private for-profit	$25,702	$30,182	$9,500	37%
39	Milan Institute-Palm DesertPalm Desert · private for-profit	$25,267	$28,131	$7,711	31%
40	National Career CollegePanorama City · private for-profit	$24,872	$28,792	$8,340	34%
41	UEI College-Huntington ParkHuntington Park · private for-profit	$24,695	$30,666	$9,500	38%
42	California Healing Arts CollegeCarson · private for-profit	$24,650	Not reported	$9,500	39%
43	UEI College-GardenaGardena · private for-profit	$24,039	$29,379	$9,500	40%
44	Regan Career InstituteEl Monte · private for-profit	$23,841	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
45	ATA College (California)El Cajon · private for-profit	$23,338	$35,962	$6,220	27%
46	Summit CollegeSan Bernardino · private for-profit	$23,181	$33,087	$8,444	36%
47	Southern California Health InstituteNorth Hollywood · private for-profit	$22,923	$25,402	$9,500	41%
48	Concorde Career College-San BernardinoSan Bernardino · private for-profit	$22,895	$27,308	$9,500	41%
49	Baldwin Park Adult & Community EducationBaldwin Park · public	$22,869	$29,060	Not reported	Not reported
50	Healthcare Career CollegeParamount · private for-profit	$21,834	$34,035	$9,500	44%
51	High Desert Medical CollegeLancaster · private for-profit	$21,504	$29,880	$9,500	44%
52	Universal Healthcare Careers CollegeLos Angeles · private for-profit	$21,444	$24,870	$3,500	16%
53	American College of Healthcare and TechnologyRiverside · private for-profit	$21,250	$28,562	$9,500	45%
54	UEI College-FresnoFresno · private for-profit	$20,254	$25,746	$9,500	47%
55	Associated Technical College-Los AngelesLos Angeles · private for-profit	$16,782	$21,769	$9,500	57%

6 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

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 49 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Bay Area Medical Academy$38,505
Charles A Jones Career and Education Center$38,064
Cabrillo College$37,279
Unitek College (Hayward, California)$34,873
Fresno City College$33,838

Lowest median debt

Universal Healthcare Careers College$3,500
Charles A Jones Career and Education Center$4,730
Ventura Adult and Continuing Education$4,992
California Nurses Educational Institute$5,500
ATA College (California)$6,220

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

Bay Area Medical Academy in San Francisco reports the highest median first-year pay, $38,505. Its median federal debt is $9,139.

Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked443 programs by pay and debt Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Associate's) programs in California, ranked16 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 certificate 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