Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Kansas City Kansas Community College

Kansas City Kansas Community College's Allied Health program graduates start at $42,823—well above the national median but trailing most Kansas competitors. At 40th percentile statewide, this program sits in the middle of the pack in a state with strong allied health outcomes. Hutchinson Community College's grads earn $5,500 more annually, and even Washburn University beats KCKCC by $2,500 despite being a four-year institution. For students who could access those programs, the earnings gap compounds over a career.

The $14,500 debt load offers one advantage: it's substantially lower than both state and national medians. That translates to a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.34, meaning graduates could theoretically pay off their loans in about four months of gross pay. Earnings do climb 10% over four years to $47,071, showing reasonable career progression in the field.

Here's the practical reality: this program gets you into allied health work without crushing debt, which matters for the 31% of students here on Pell grants. But the small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could swing significantly year to year. If your child can commute to Hutchinson or access a higher-earning program elsewhere in Kansas, that's probably worth exploring. If KCKCC is the accessible option, the debt situation keeps this from being a financial mistake.