ROI Major

Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Del Mar College

TX · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.08

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services degree from Del Mar College earn a median salary of $69,225 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $75,163. The degree typically pays for itself in 6 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$50,116

Typical Career

$69,225

Top Performers

$87,384

Estimated break-even: 6 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$462

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,769. Most students can comfortably afford about a $462 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.8x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.9x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Texas buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Educational Services, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 40.9%
Educational Services 15.1%
Retail Trade 6.3%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$75,163

Nominal: $69,225 in Texas (COL 92.1% of national avg) · 8.6% higher purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

6 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $40,412 $56,957 $69,504
5 Years After Graduation $50,116 $69,225 $87,384
10 Years After Graduation $54,679 $77,327 $95,933

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $69,225 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in TX, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $69,225 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $75,163 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services program at Del Mar College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $56,957, increasing to $69,225 after five years, and reaching $77,327 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $75,162.87, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive earning potential relative to the national average, despite Texas's cost of living index being lower at 0.921 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly in Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 55.3% of employment, with a significant portion also entering Educational Services at 15.1%. The estimated break-even point for pursuing this path versus a high school-only education is around six years, suggesting that the return on investment for graduates is favorable. Overall, the career prospects in this field appear solid, with strong demand and growth potential in key sectors.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.