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Dental assistant schools in Tennessee
Tennessee has 17 accredited campuses awarding dental assisting credentials. If you finish and work as a dental assistant in Tennessee, expect to start around $37,810–$44,440 and reach a median of $46,720 with experience; the top quarter earn $59,270 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Tennessee). Graduates of these Tennessee programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $22,127 in their first year, against $24,225 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What dental assistants earn in Tennessee
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 7,420 employed in Tennessee. National median: $48,070.
Campuses in Tennessee, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: BlountvilleChattanoogaCookevilleDicksonGallatinJohnson CityKnoxvilleLebanonMemphisNashvilleNewbern
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concorde Career College-Memphis | Memphis | for-profit | 115 | $44,189 | $9,500 | 55% | $29,351 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology Nashville | Nashville | Public | 11 | $32,423 | not reported | 70% | $21,109 |
| Chattanooga State Community College | Chattanooga | Public | 34 | $31,237 | $12,698 | 26% | not reported |
| Ross Medical Education Center-Johnson City | Johnson City | for-profit | 21 | $22,365 | $9,500 | 64% | $23,696 |
| Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers | Chattanooga | for-profit | 7 | $22,269 | $17,669 | not reported | not reported |
| Ross Medical Education Center-Knoxville | Knoxville | for-profit | 34 | $21,985 | $9,500 | 68% | $24,748 |
| Genesis Career College-Cookeville | Cookeville | for-profit | 9 | $21,389 | not reported | 54% | $15,788 |
| Remington College-Nashville Campus | Nashville | non-profit | 34 | $21,379 | $9,500 | 47% | not reported |
| Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga | Chattanooga | for-profit | 17 | $19,844 | $10,835 | not reported | $29,203 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Memphis | Memphis | Public | 19 | $18,717 | not reported | 55% | $18,418 |
| South College | Knoxville | for-profit | 22 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Northeast State Community College | Blountville | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology Northwest | Newbern | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 69% | $14,677 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Knoxville | Knoxville | Public | 12 | not reported | not reported | 71% | $23,962 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Dickson | Dickson | Public | 10 | not reported | not reported | 75% | $19,950 |
| Volunteer State Community College | Gallatin | Public | 8 | not reported | not reported | 28% | not reported |
| Genesis Career College-Lebanon | Lebanon | for-profit | 2 | not reported | not reported | 59% | $19,952 |
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.