Career Training Path › Dental assistant schools › New Mexico
Dental assistant schools in New Mexico
New Mexico has 7 accredited campuses awarding dental assisting credentials. If you finish and work as a dental assistant in New Mexico, expect to start around $37,060–$38,300 and reach a median of $44,400 with experience; the top quarter earn $47,160 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, New Mexico). Graduates of these New Mexico programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $23,216 in their first year, against $24,225 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What dental assistants earn in New Mexico
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 2,150 employed in New Mexico. National median: $48,070.
Campuses in New Mexico, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: AlbuquerqueGallupLas CrucesLas VegasSanta Fe
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central New Mexico Community College | Albuquerque | Public | 24 | $24,478 | not reported | 31% | not reported |
| Pima Medical Institute-Albuquerque | Albuquerque | for-profit | 58 | $23,216 | not reported | 68% | $28,183 |
| Carrington College-Albuquerque | Albuquerque | for-profit | 24 | $23,087 | $8,789 | 65% | $56,412 |
| Santa Fe Community College | Santa Fe | Public | 11 | not reported | not reported | 23% | not reported |
| University of New Mexico-Gallup Campus | Gallup | Public | 8 | not reported | not reported | 20% | not reported |
| New Mexico State University-Dona Ana | Las Cruces | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | 19% | not reported |
| Luna Community College | Las Vegas | Public | 5 | not reported | not reported | 28% | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.