Which Iowa health and medical administration program has the lowest debt?

Orion Technical College reports the lowest median federal debt, $9,500, with first-year pay of $30,351.

How much do health and medical administration graduates earn in Iowa?

The median across 5 Iowa health and medical administration certificate programs is $32,126 in the first year after graduating and $35,685 five years after.

Health and Medical Administration (Certificate) Programs in Iowa, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many health and medical administration certificate programs are in Iowa?

5 Iowa programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Certificate in Health and Medical Administrative Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Iowa health and medical administration certificate program pays its graduates $32,126 in their first year, $3,551 more than the national median. Northeast Iowa Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($36,716), and Orion Technical College the lowest median debt ($9,500).

Median first-year pay$32,126National $28,575

Median pay after 5 years$35,685National $33,117

Median federal debt$17,000National $10,875

Debt-to-earnings52%National 41%

All 5 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	Northeast Iowa Community CollegeCalmar · public	$36,716	Not reported	$20,500	56%
2	Des Moines Area Community CollegeAnkeny · public	$35,662	$36,476	$17,000	48%
3	Hawkeye Community CollegeWaterloo · public	$32,126	$34,893	$21,500	67%
4	Western Iowa Tech Community CollegeSioux City · public	$31,546	$27,091	$16,343	52%
5	Orion Technical CollegeDavenport · private for-profit	$30,351	$37,669	$9,500	31%

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa health and medical administration program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Northeast Iowa Community College$36,716
Des Moines Area Community College$35,662
Hawkeye Community College$32,126
Western Iowa Tech Community College$31,546
Orion Technical College$30,351

Lowest median debt

Orion Technical College$9,500
Western Iowa Tech Community College$16,343
Des Moines Area Community College$17,000
Northeast Iowa Community College$20,500
Hawkeye Community College$21,500

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

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$64,400

Median pay in Iowa. 10,190 people work in this job in Iowa. 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.

Bottom 10%: $43,680Top 10%: $97,710

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

$40,980

Median pay in Iowa. 10,560 people work in this job in Iowa. 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.

Bottom 10%: $35,240Top 10%: $50,130

Medical Assistants

$45,480

Median pay in Iowa. 5,990 people work in this job in Iowa. 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%: $36,730Top 10%: $54,960

Computer User Support Specialists

$58,810

Median pay in Iowa. 6,140 people work in this job in Iowa. 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.

Bottom 10%: $37,740Top 10%: $85,680

Common questions

Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar reports the highest median first-year pay, $36,716. Its median federal debt is $20,500.

Health and Medical Administration (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked281 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 Iowa rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the health and medical administration 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