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

Roane State Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $10,629, with first-year pay of $41,640.

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

The median across 12 Tennessee diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs is $47,498 in the first year after graduating and $56,639 five years after.

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

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

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

12 programs report first-year pay
8 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 Tennessee diagnostic and treatment professions associate's program pays its graduates $47,498 in their first year, $7,072 less than the national median. Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting reports the highest first-year pay ($75,955), and Roane State Community College the lowest median debt ($10,629).

Median first-year pay$47,498National $54,570

Median pay after 5 years$56,639National $59,487

Median federal debt$17,880National $18,592

Debt-to-earnings29%National 34%

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	Meridian Institute of Surgical AssistingNashville · private for-profit	$75,955	Not reported	$19,825	26%
2	Columbia State Community CollegeColumbia · public	$58,188	$57,137	$13,000	22%
3	Concorde Career College-MemphisMemphis · private for-profit	$56,188	$61,422	$33,916	60%
4	Chattanooga State Community CollegeChattanooga · public	$50,848	$60,049	$15,935	31%
5	Jackson State Community CollegeJackson · public	$48,919	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Volunteer State Community CollegeGallatin · public	$47,716	$60,028	$11,000	23%
7	Walters State Community CollegeMorristown · public	$47,280	$52,959	Not reported	Not reported
8	South CollegeKnoxville · private for-profit	$44,888	$50,966	$26,000	58%
9	Southwest Tennessee Community CollegeMemphis · public	$43,958	$56,639	Not reported	Not reported
10	Roane State Community CollegeHarriman · public	$41,640	$49,497	$10,629	26%
11	Nashville State Community CollegeNashville · public	$40,000	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
12	Miller-Motte College-ChattanoogaChattanooga · private for-profit	$37,084	$40,968	$27,386	74%

Jackson State Community College, Walters State Community College, Southwest Tennessee Community College, and Nashville State Community College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting$75,955
Columbia State Community College$58,188
Concorde Career College-Memphis$56,188
Chattanooga State Community College$50,848
Jackson State Community College$48,919

Lowest median debt

Roane State Community College$10,629
Volunteer State Community College$11,000
Columbia State Community College$13,000
Chattanooga State Community College$15,935
Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting$19,825

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

$64,630

Median pay in Tennessee. 4,660 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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%: $50,540Top 10%: $90,790

Emergency Medical Technicians

$40,330

Median pay in Tennessee. 3,860 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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%: $29,720Top 10%: $59,370

Physician Assistants

$118,240

Median pay in Tennessee. 2,240 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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%: $93,380Top 10%: $141,670

Respiratory Therapists

$72,140

Median pay in Tennessee. 3,440 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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%: $57,860Top 10%: $88,060

Common questions

Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting in Nashville reports the highest median first-year pay, $75,955. Its median federal debt is $19,825.

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