College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Dental Support Services and Allied Professions degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 71 colleges (71 of 71 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$57,048

Graduates only, early career.$56,016 two years out.

Median federal debt

$20,000

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.37×

37% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Dental Support Services and Allied Professions report early-career pay between $48,317 and $62,973 — a spread of $14,656 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $48,317 median $57,048 75th pct $62,973

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 341 colleges $23,087 $9,500 0.41×

Associate's 227 colleges $49,000 $16,170 0.35×

Bachelor's 71 colleges $57,048 $20,000 0.37×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Lake Washington Institute of Technology WA $78,391 $23,000 debt

University of the Pacific CA $75,743 —

West Coast University-Texas TX $72,503 $33,707 debt

West Coast University-Anaheim-Orange County CA $72,503 $33,707 debt

Pacific University OR $69,477 $22,500 debt

University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center OK $67,944 $15,000 debt

University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK $67,944 $15,000 debt

University of Southern California CA $66,674 $30,556 debt

Farmingdale State College NY $66,616 —

University of Hawaii at Manoa HI $66,487 $29,690 debt

University of Maryland Baltimore MD $65,957 $15,000 debt

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN $65,455 $17,394 debt

Loma Linda University CA $65,411 $15,000 debt

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences MA $64,159 $25,000 debt

Eastern Washington University WA $63,361 $23,604 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Dental Support Services and Allied Professions, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard