3 accredited schools across the Santa Maria metro area trained 163 medical assistants in 2023–24. Here’s how they compare on cost, length and size, plus what the job pays locally.
Updated October 2026 · Data: IPEDS 2023–24, BLS May 2025
Sorted by number of 2023–24 graduates (IPEDS), a proxy for program size and stability.
Private nonprofit career school in Santa Maria that reported 70 Medical Assistant graduates in 2023–24. Published tuition and fees plus books and supplies come to $15,249 for a program of about 30 weeks.
Private for-profit two-year college in Santa Maria that reported 54 Medical Assistant graduates in 2023–24. Published tuition and fees plus books and supplies come to $21,997 for a program of about 36 weeks.
This public two-year college in Santa Barbara County graduated 39 Medical Assistant students in 2023–24. Annual in-district tuition (before fees): $1,104 ($8,952 out of state).
3 accredited schools in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area graduated 163 Medical Assistant students in 2023–24. The largest was CET-Santa Maria with 70.
Among schools that published a program price, CET-Santa Maria in Santa Maria listed the lowest total: $15,249 for tuition, books and supplies.
Medical Assistants in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro earn a median $49,500 a year ($23.80/hour), per BLS May 2025 data. That compares with $49,660 statewide and $45,690 nationally.
Certificate and diploma programs commonly run about 9 to 12 months; associate degrees take about 2 years.