2025 Best Dental Assisting/Assistant Associate Degree Schools in California

Ranked #81 in popularity, dental assisting/assistant is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Dental Assisting/Assistant Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 325 associate degrees in dental assisting/assistant during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Dental Assisting/Assistant School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of dental assisting/assistant for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to dental assisting/assistant students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other dental assisting/assistant students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized dental assisting/assistant related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for dental assisting/assistant students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Dental Assisting/Assistant Associate Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Dental Assisting/Assistant in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in dental assisting/assistant.

Top California Schools for an Associate in Dental Assisting

1

Carrington College, Sacramento
Sacramento, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

59 Annual Graduates

Carrington College, Sacramento is a wonderful choice for students pursuing an associate degree in dental assisting/assistant. Carrington College, Sacramento is a small private for-profit college located in the suburb of Sacramento.More information about a associate in dental assisting/assistant from Carrington College, Sacramento

2

Sacramento City College
Sacramento, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

6 Annual Graduates

Sacramento City College is a wonderful decision for students interested in an associate degree in dental assisting/assistant. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sacramento City is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in dental assisting/assistant from Sacramento City College

3

Cerritos College
Norwalk, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

10 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in an associate degree in dental assisting/assistant needs to take a look at Cerritos College. Located in the suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public college with a very large student population.More information about a associate in dental assisting/assistant from Cerritos College

4

Allan Hancock College
Santa Maria, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

18 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Allan Hancock College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in dental assisting/assistant. Allan Hancock College is a fairly large public college located in the midsize city of Santa Maria.More information about a associate in dental assisting/assistant from Allan Hancock College

5

Moreno Valley College
Moreno Valley, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

19 Annual Graduates

Moreno Valley College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Moreno Valley.More information about a associate in dental assisting/assistant from Moreno Valley College

6

Carrington College-San Jose
San Jose, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

48 Annual Graduates

Western Career College-San Jose is a fairly small private for-profit college located in the large city of San Jose.More information about a associate in dental assisting/assistant from Carrington College-San Jose

Best Dental Assisting/Assistant Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Dental Assisting/Assistant Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	288	76
Nevada	185	7
Alaska	71	9

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Dental Assisting

One of 3 majors within the Dental Support Services area of study, Dental Assisting/Assistant has other similar majors worth exploring.

Most Popular Majors Related to Dental Assisting

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Dental Hygiene/Hygienist	471
Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician	5

Notes and References

• 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.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.