Ranked #5 in popularity, allied health professions is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 62 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Allied Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,271 associate degrees in allied health professions during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Take your associate degree in an allied health field to the next level with this specialized transfer friendly online bachelor of science from Southern New Hampshire University.
Choosing a Great Allied Health Professions School for Your Associate Degree
The allied health associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to allied health professions students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - How many other allied health professions students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How easy is it for allied health professions to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized allied health professions related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for allied health professions students working on their associate degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Allied Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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Take your associate degree in an allied health field to the next level with this specialized transfer friendly online bachelor of science from Southern New Hampshire University.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Allied Health Professions in California
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in allied health professions. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
12 Top California Schools for an Associate in Allied Health
Loma Linda University is a great choice for individuals pursuing an associate degree in allied health professions. Located in the suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Allied Health Professions associate degree recipients from Loma Linda University get an earnings boost of about $10,926 over the average earnings of allied health professions majors.
Every student who is interested in an associate degree in allied health professions needs to check out San Joaquin Valley College-Rancho Cordova. Located in the small city of Rancho Cordova, is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
Associate recipients from the allied health professions program at San Joaquin Valley College-Rancho Cordova get $9,746 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Any student who is interested in an associate degree in allied health professions needs to check out Foothill College. Located in the large suburb of Los Altos Hills, Foothill College is a public college with a large student population.
Allied Health Professions associate degree recipients from Foothill College receive an earnings boost of approximately $47,403 above the typical earnings of allied health professions graduates.
Located in the city of Costa Mesa, Orange Coast College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Allied Health Professions associate degree recipients from Orange Coast College earn a boost of about $8,839 over the average earnings of allied health professions graduates.
Located in the large city of Bakersfield, is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Those allied health professions students who get their associate degree from San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield earn $9,746 more than the typical allied health graduate.
is a small private for-profit college located in the midsize city of Temecula.
Those allied health professions students who get their associate degree from San Joaquin Valley College-Temecula earn $9,746 more than the standard allied health grad.
is a small private for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Ontario.
Those allied health professions students who get their associate degree from San Joaquin Valley College-Ontario earn $9,746 more than the average allied health graduate.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Allied Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in California award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
The allied health associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
