Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) maps to BLS occupations averaging about $53,325, with roughly 463,450 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,718; common paths include Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians and Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance.
Key Statistics
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance): what the data shows
Common questions about emergency care attendant (emt ambulance) degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a emergency care attendant (emt ambulance) degree?
A Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) program is classified under NCES CIP 51.0810 in the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services field family (51.08).
A program that prepares individuals to assist licensed EMTs, under the supervision of a physician, to prepare and transport ill or injured patients, and to operate emergency vehicles and equipment such as life support units. Includes instruction in first aid and emergency medicine field techniques, patient stabilization and care, medical field communications, equipment operation and maintenance, emergency vehicle operation, and applicable standards and regulations
Types of emergency care attendant (emt ambulance) degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.08 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Anesthesiologist Assistant (CIP 51.0809)
- Chiropractic Technician/Assistant (CIP 51.0813)
- Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant (CIP 51.0802)
- Lactation Consultant (CIP 51.0815)
- Medical/Clinical Assistant (CIP 51.0801)
- Occupational Therapist Assistant (CIP 51.0803)
- Pathology/Pathologist Assistant (CIP 51.0811)
- Pharmacy Technician/Assistant (CIP 51.0805)
- Physical Therapy Assistant (CIP 51.0806)
- Radiologist Assistant (CIP 51.0814)
- Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant (CIP 51.0812)
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (CIP 51.0816)
How long does it take to get a emergency care attendant (emt ambulance) degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0810 in our file:
- 13 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a emergency care attendant (emt ambulance) degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians | 12,080 | $34,330 |
| Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance | 211,000 | $48,880 |
| Personal Care Aides | — | — |
| Emergency Medical Technicians | 177,980 | $41,340 |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | 62,390 | $37,900 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a emergency care attendant (emt ambulance) degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services bachelor's program family: median debt $32,031, median earnings $68,559 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.97.
About 4.5% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,718 and median net price is $11,972.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,718 Median In-State Public
$16,346 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) majors are, on average, $4,718 for in-state public colleges, and $16,346 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance).
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 5 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 5 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 3 | Infinity College | LA | $230 |
| 4 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 5 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.08 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Anesthesiologist Assistant CIP 51.0809
- Chiropractic Technician/Assistant CIP 51.0813
- Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant CIP 51.0802
- Lactation Consultant CIP 51.0815
- Medical/Clinical Assistant CIP 51.0801
- Occupational Therapist Assistant CIP 51.0803
- Pathology/Pathologist Assistant CIP 51.0811
- Pharmacy Technician/Assistant CIP 51.0805
- Physical Therapy Assistant CIP 51.0806
- Radiologist Assistant CIP 51.0814
- Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant CIP 51.0812
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistant CIP 51.0816
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0810 in the survey year used in our extract (13 total across levels below).
- 13 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $53,325. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians | $39,733 | 12,080 |
| Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance | $56,746 | 211,000 |
| Personal Care Aides | — | — |
| Emergency Medical Technicians | $53,239 | 177,980 |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | $44,634 | 62,390 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services CIP family (6 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) graduate.
- $32,031 median federal loan debt among completers
- $68,559 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.97 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 4.5% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$53,325 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) majors is $53,325.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) majors.
Occupations by Share
463,450 2023 Workforce
The number of Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance).
Age distribution for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
3,923 Total Degrees Awarded
2,337 Male (59.57%)
1,586 Female (40.43%)
Gender distribution of Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
2,624 White (66.89%)
496 Hispanic or Latino (12.64%)
205 Black or African American (5.23%)
188 Two or More Races (4.79%)
154 Asian (3.93%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance).
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to assist licensed EMTs, under the supervision of a physician, to prepare and transport ill or injured patients, and to operate emergency vehicles and equipment such as life support units. Includes instruction in first aid and emergency medicine field techniques, patient stabilization and care, medical field communications, equipment operation and maintenance, emergency vehicle operation, and applicable standards and regulations
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance).
CIP Code
51.0810 - Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $32,031 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $68,559, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) graduate.
Men earned 40.4% of 3,923 Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $53,325. The largest mapped role by headcount is Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians (12,080 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,718 in-state at public colleges and $16,346 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.