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

Central Virginia Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $8,479, with first-year pay of $49,653.

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

The median across 11 Virginia diagnostic and treatment professions associate's programs is $57,367 in the first year after graduating and $62,724 five years after.

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

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

11 Virginia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

11 programs report first-year pay
10 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 Virginia diagnostic and treatment professions associate's program pays its graduates $57,367 in their first year, $2,798 more than the national median. Northern Virginia Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($74,050), and Central Virginia Community College the lowest median debt ($8,479).

Median first-year pay$57,367National $54,570

Median pay after 5 years$62,724National $59,487

Median federal debt$16,150National $18,592

Debt-to-earnings29%National 34%

All 11 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	Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale · public	$74,050	$76,559	$13,437	18%
2	Sentara College of Health SciencesChesapeake · private nonprofit	$63,585	$66,953	$21,000	33%
3	Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolk · public	$62,524	$67,446	$12,530	20%
4	J Sargeant Reynolds Community CollegeRichmond · public	$61,104	$69,934	$20,435	33%
5	Mountain Empire Community CollegeBig Stone Gap · public	$58,346	$56,211	Not reported	Not reported
6	Southside College of Health SciencesColonial Heights · private nonprofit	$57,367	$66,104	$18,862	33%
7	ECPI UniversityVirginia Beach · private for-profit	$55,250	$62,724	$26,505	48%
8	Virginia Western Community CollegeRoanoke · public	$54,480	$65,360	$12,000	22%
9	Piedmont Virginia Community CollegeCharlottesville · public	$49,770	$62,689	$12,836	26%
10	Central Virginia Community CollegeLynchburg · public	$49,653	$64,365	$8,479	17%
11	Riverside College of Health SciencesNewport News · private nonprofit	$47,366	$62,491	$21,560	46%

Mountain Empire Community College reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 10 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Northern Virginia Community College$74,050
Sentara College of Health Sciences$63,585
Tidewater Community College$62,524
J Sargeant Reynolds Community College$61,104
Mountain Empire Community College$58,346

Lowest median debt

Central Virginia Community College$8,479
Virginia Western Community College$12,000
Tidewater Community College$12,530
Piedmont Virginia Community College$12,836
Northern Virginia Community College$13,437

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

$80,670

Median pay in Virginia. 5,140 people work in this job in Virginia. 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%: $60,000Top 10%: $106,170

Emergency Medical Technicians

$45,420

Median pay in Virginia. 4,490 people work in this job in Virginia. 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%: $36,540Top 10%: $59,180

Physician Assistants

$135,940

Median pay in Virginia. 4,340 people work in this job in Virginia. 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%: $98,330Top 10%: $213,010

Respiratory Therapists

$82,910

Median pay in Virginia. 3,340 people work in this job in Virginia. 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%: $65,540Top 10%: $106,470

Common questions

Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale reports the highest median first-year pay, $74,050. Its median federal debt is $13,437.

Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Associate's) programs in the US, ranked496 programs by pay and debt Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Certificate) programs in Virginia, ranked8 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 Virginia 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