Dental Assisting/Assistant

CIP Code: 51.0601

A dental assisting/assistant degree prepares graduates for careers in Health specialties teachers, postsecondary, Dental assistants. 555 colleges and universities offer this program.

Annual Degrees Awarded
15,557
Colleges Offering 555
Avg. Career Salary $76,460
Top Career Salary $105,620

Dental Assisting/Assistant Salary by College

Nationally, bachelor’s graduates in this field earn a median $68,061 four years after graduating (middle half: $51,213–$83,379). Where you study it matters: across 76 colleges with reported results, pay ranges from $37,694 to $92,762.

Sort by:

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjusted1 yr afterMedian debtOutcome Rating
1College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas, NV$92,762$96,276$75,252—D
2University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA$91,726$83,465$69,479$30,556A+
3University of the Pacific Stockton, CA$86,150$78,391——A
5West Coast University-Orange County Anaheim, CA$85,797$78,070$73,751$33,707A
4West Coast University-Los Angeles North Hollywood, CA$85,797$78,070$73,751$33,707B+
6Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, WA$85,286$78,445$77,431$23,000B
7MCPHS University Boston, MA$83,253$73,313$61,374$25,000A
8Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA$82,028$74,640$81,255$11,000A
9Community College of Denver Denver, CO$81,896$76,589——F
10University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI$79,863$72,666$71,260$29,690C
11Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA$79,207$72,073$67,159$15,000A
12Pacific University Forest Grove, OR$78,641$79,104$76,060$22,500B
13Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA$78,231$71,236$72,808$22,341C
14Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls, OR$78,089$78,549$66,691$20,750B+
15West Virginia University Morgantown, WV$76,662$90,695$57,102$26,000B+
16University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN$76,078$72,671$64,936$17,394A
17Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA$75,533$69,474$67,984$23,604C
18University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT$74,822$67,364$65,025$25,121F
19University of New England Biddeford, ME$74,504$79,178$59,851$26,645B
20Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, TX$74,347$75,589$60,153$19,349C
21University of Maryland, Baltimore Baltimore, MD$74,215$65,132$72,139$15,000A+
23Herzing University-Madison Madison, WI$73,741$76,731$58,912$28,823C
22Herzing University-Minneapolis St. Louis Park, MN$73,741$70,438$58,912$28,823D
24University of New Haven West Haven, CT$73,231$65,931$59,086$23,281C
25Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN$73,027$69,756$60,849$15,250C+
26Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN$72,882$69,618$62,496$21,355C
27University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC$72,567$77,875$54,207$11,000A+
28Clark College Vancouver, WA$72,300$66,501$64,500$19,837D
29The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio, TX$71,120$72,308$64,535$20,000A+
30Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY$70,853$67,437$72,908—B+
31Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX$70,132$71,304$64,394$15,000A
32Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA$69,732$63,497$63,145$18,000D
33University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE$69,031$71,346$59,621$15,000A+
34Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ$68,917$70,813$64,082$20,567C+
35University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN$68,825$73,837$61,972$20,500B+
36Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL$68,609$67,408$53,559$21,500C
37University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD$68,556$73,793$61,265$26,000C+
38Siena Heights University Adrian, MI$68,392$72,111——C+
40University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK$68,018$76,368$75,367$15,000A
39University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center Oklahoma City, OK$68,018$76,368$75,367$15,000A
41University of Wyoming Laramie, WY$67,927$70,795$62,557$7,500B
42Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans New Orleans, LA$67,665$78,327$59,772$15,000A+
43University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM$67,561$78,225$55,003$20,000C
44Indiana University-Northwest Gary, IN$67,468$72,381$57,654$17,500F
45Texas Woman's University Denton, TX$66,034$67,137$55,694$14,049C+
46Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH$65,920$70,347$61,173$20,000A
47University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR$65,708$77,431$58,607$20,000A
48East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN$65,649$71,714$51,316$14,000D
49University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR$65,470$77,151$58,380$24,125B
50Yakima Valley College Yakima, WA$65,179$59,951$62,574—D
51The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Houston, TX$64,980$66,066$59,360$18,469A+
52Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA$64,919$66,023$57,043$23,983B+
53University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO$64,838$69,520$60,307$18,750B
54Georgia Highlands College Rome, GA$64,541$66,813——C+
55St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL$63,700$67,800$59,295$17,428B
56Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI$63,582$67,040$62,805$12,000C+
57Clayton State University Morrow, GA$63,402$65,634$54,559$18,375D
58University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI$63,364$66,810$50,234$22,032A
59Idaho State University Pocatello, ID$62,783$66,761$53,877$18,000D
60University of Louisville Louisville, KY$62,595$70,876$57,464$23,000B
61Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH$62,099$66,269$48,826$24,905F
62University of Louisiana at Monroe Monroe, LA$62,089$71,873$60,188$15,000C
63Vermont State University Randolph, VT$61,991$63,670——D
64Wichita State University Wichita, KS$61,982$64,347$56,798$19,000C
65The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN$61,981$67,708$55,109$15,000A
66West Liberty University West Liberty, WV$61,801$73,114$53,420$25,481C
67Augusta University Augusta, GA$61,584$63,752$48,992$12,687D
68Indiana University-South Bend South Bend, IN$61,436$65,910$55,314$21,500F
69University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA$60,778$61,812——A
70University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI$59,402$62,633$43,742$17,875A+
71Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY$57,958$65,626$47,974$21,000D
72Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN$57,814$62,024$51,095$22,313F
73University of Mississippi University, MS$54,022$65,546$51,838—B
74Utah Tech University Saint George, UT$48,576$46,039$51,816$11,000B
75Careers Unlimited Orem, UT$44,722$42,386$52,423$28,896F
76Weber State University Ogden, UT$37,694$35,725$45,118$17,965B+

Bachelor’s degrees. Wage-adjusted = pay ÷ √(state wage index). Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data.

What Can You Do With a Dental Assisting/Assistant Degree?

Graduates with this degree pursue careers in the following fields:

$76,460
Average Salary Across Careers
$105,620
Highest Paying Career
2
Career Paths Available

Best Colleges for Dental Assisting/Assistant

Ranked by Repit grade, then by degrees awarded. These are the top-rated colleges that produce the most graduates in dental assisting/assistant.

# College Location Degrees Awarded Repit Grade
1 Tulsa Technology Center Tulsa, OK 54 B
2 MedQuest College Louisville, KY 100 C+
3 Mountainland Technical College Lehi, UT 95 C+
4 Unitek College Fremont, CA 63 C+
5 Westchester School for Medical & Dental Assistants Ardsley, NY 49 C+
6 Davis Technical College Kaysville, UT 48 C+
7 South Texas Vocational Technical Institute-Brownsville Brownsville, TX 48 C+
8 Truckee Meadows Community College Reno, NV 45 C+
9 Monroe Community College Rochester, NY 42 C+
10 Bridgerland Technical College Logan, UT 40 C+
11 Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI 39 C+
12 Pickens Technical College Aurora, CO 37 C+
13 Elgin Community College Elgin, IL 37 C+
14 George C Wallace State Community College-Hanceville Hanceville, AL 36 C+
15 Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI 32 C+
16 San Diego Mesa College San Diego, CA 32 C+
17 Houston Community College Houston, TX 31 C+
18 Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC 31 C+
19 United Education Institute-Morrow Morrow, GA 165 C
20 Carrington College-Sacramento Sacramento, CA 161 C
21 West Los Angeles College Culver City, CA 146 C
22 The College of Health Care Professions-Northwest Houston, TX 142 C
23 Delta Technical College-Mississippi Horn Lake, MS 138 C
24 Carrington College-San Jose San Jose, CA 137 C
25 UEI College-Riverside Riverside, CA 131 C
26 UEI College-Chula Vista Chula Vista, CA 130 C
27 Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN 127 C
28 High Desert Medical College Lancaster, CA 121 C
29 UEI College-Huntington Park Huntington Park, CA 119 C
30 Century College White Bear Lake, MN 119 C

Largest Dental Assisting/Assistant Programs

Schools ranked by number of graduates. These institutions produce the most dental assisting/assistant graduates annually, including online and distance learning programs.

# College Location Degrees Awarded Repit Grade
1 United Education Institute-Morrow Morrow, GA 165 C
2 Carrington College-Sacramento Sacramento, CA 161 C
3 West Los Angeles College Culver City, CA 146 C
4 The College of Health Care Professions-Northwest Houston, TX 142 C
5 Concorde Career College-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA 139 D
6 Delta Technical College-Mississippi Horn Lake, MS 138 C
7 UEI College-Phoenix Phoenix, AZ 138 D
8 Carrington College-San Jose San Jose, CA 137 C
9 Concorde Career College-Memphis Memphis, TN 137 D
10 UEI College-Riverside Riverside, CA 131 C
11 UEI College-Chula Vista Chula Vista, CA 130 C
12 Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN 127 C
13 Concorde Career College-Grand Prairie Grand Prairie, TX 124 D
14 High Desert Medical College Lancaster, CA 121 C
15 UEI College-Huntington Park Huntington Park, CA 119 C
16 Century College White Bear Lake, MN 119 C
17 Porter & Chester Institute Bridgeport, CT 114 D
18 UEI College-Fresno Fresno, CA 108 D
19 United Education Institute-Stone Mountain Stone Mountain, GA 108 D
20 American Career College-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 107 C
21 Concorde Career College-San Diego San Diego, CA 106 D
22 Concorde Career College-San Antonio San Antonio, TX 103 D
23 MedQuest College Louisville, KY 100 C+
24 UEI College-Sacramento Sacramento, CA 99 C
25 UEI College-Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA 97 C
26 Hennepin Technical College Brooklyn Park, MN 96 C
27 Mountainland Technical College Lehi, UT 95 C+
28 UEI College-Stockton Stockton, CA 93 C
29 UEI College-Ontario Ontario, CA 93 D
30 Northwest Career College Las Vegas, NV 91 D
15,557
Degrees Awarded Annually
555
Colleges Offering Program
2
Related Careers

About Dental Assisting/Assistant

Dental Assisting/Assistant is a degree program offered at 555 colleges and universities across the United States. Each year, approximately 15,557 students graduate with this degree.

Graduates with this degree can pursue careers such as health specialties teachers, postsecondary, dental assistants.

Program Classification

CIP Code 51.0601
Field (2-digit CIP) 51
Category (4-digit CIP) 51.06

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do with a Dental Assisting/Assistant degree?
A Dental Assisting/Assistant degree can lead to careers as a health specialties teachers, postsecondary, dental assistants, and more. Top earners in related careers can make up to $105,620 annually.
How many colleges offer Dental Assisting/Assistant?
555 colleges and universities in the United States offer Dental Assisting/Assistant as a degree program. Each year, approximately 15,557 students graduate with this degree.
What are the best colleges for Dental Assisting/Assistant?
The best colleges for Dental Assisting/Assistant based on Repit's ratings include Tulsa Technology Center, MedQuest College, Mountainland Technical College, Unitek College, Westchester School for Medical & Dental Assistants. Rankings are based on the college's overall Repit grade and the number of degrees awarded in this program.
What is the salary potential with a Dental Assisting/Assistant degree?
Graduates with a Dental Assisting/Assistant degree can expect average salaries around $76,460 in related careers, with top earners making up to $105,620. Actual salaries depend on the specific career path, experience level, and location.