Which Ohio dental hygiene and assisting program has the lowest debt?

Lakeland Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $11,200, with first-year pay of $48,254.

How much do dental hygiene and assisting graduates earn in Ohio?

The median across 12 Ohio dental hygiene and assisting associate's programs is $48,562 in the first year after graduating and $54,071 five years after.

Dental Hygiene and Assisting (Associate's) Programs in Ohio, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many dental hygiene and assisting associate's programs are in Ohio?

12 Ohio programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 12 of them also report federal debt.

12 programs report first-year pay
12 also report federal debt
Associate's in Dental Support Services and Allied Professions

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Ohio dental hygiene and assisting associate's program pays its graduates $48,562 in their first year, $6,005 less than the national median. Fortis College-Centerville reports the highest first-year pay ($63,653), and Lakeland Community College the lowest median debt ($11,200).

Median first-year pay$48,562National $54,567

Median pay after 5 years$54,071National $56,201

Median federal debt$18,005National $18,589

Debt-to-earnings41%National 36%

All 12 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	Fortis College-CentervilleCenterville · private for-profit	$63,653	$55,260	$44,682	70%
2	University of CincinnatiCincinnati · public	$57,217	$58,890	$19,309	34%
3	James A. Rhodes State CollegeLima · public	$54,584	$50,139	$18,010	33%
4	Sinclair Community CollegeDayton · public	$53,091	$56,201	$19,346	36%
5	Cuyahoga Community College DistrictCleveland · public	$49,218	$49,574	$12,400	25%
6	Fortis College-Cuyahoga FallsCuyahoga Falls · private for-profit	$48,870	$28,753	$44,222	90%
7	Lakeland Community CollegeKirtland · public	$48,254	$55,037	$11,200	23%
8	Lorain County Community CollegeElyria · public	$47,358	$53,105	$15,747	33%
9	Owens Community CollegePerrysburg · public	$46,021	$56,941	$20,688	45%
10	Shawnee StatePortsmouth · public	$38,644	$56,236	$18,000	47%
11	Stark State CollegeNorth Canton · public	$30,672	$44,232	$17,750	58%
12	East Ohio CollegeEast Liverpool · private for-profit	$22,920	$27,840	$11,998	52%

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio dental hygiene and assisting program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 12 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Fortis College-Centerville$63,653
University of Cincinnati$57,217
James A. Rhodes State College$54,584
Sinclair Community College$53,091
Cuyahoga Community College District$49,218

Lowest median debt

Lakeland Community College$11,200
East Ohio College$11,998
Cuyahoga Community College District$12,400
Lorain County Community College$15,747
Stark State College$17,750

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 dental hygiene and assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Dental Assistants

$47,970

Median pay in Ohio. 12,150 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $36,870Top 10%: $78,000

Dental Hygienists

$88,990

Median pay in Ohio. 8,630 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 15,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $76,260Top 10%: $102,950

Dental Laboratory Technicians

$48,480

Median pay in Ohio. 1,160 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $36,420Top 10%: $76,780

Common questions

Fortis College-Centerville in Centerville reports the highest median first-year pay, $63,653. Its median federal debt is $44,682.

Dental Hygiene and Assisting (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked180 programs by pay and debt Dental Hygiene and Assisting (Certificate) programs in Ohio, ranked7 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 Ohio rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the dental hygiene and 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