Best Surgical Assistant programs in Ohio, ranked by enrollment
Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons.
23 schools in Ohio run programs that feed this job, graduating 270 people a year. The job pays a median of $77,450 in Ohio across about 970 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Ohio that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in Ohio that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Ohio (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Ohio page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.0909In Ohio → | 270 | 100.0% | 23 | $53,520 | $20,250 |
Top 23 schools in Ohio
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 20 of the 23 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buckeye Hills Career Center Rio Grande, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $39,968 | 90% | — | — |
| 2 | Stautzenberger College - Maumee Maumee, OH Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $42,769 | 55% | $21,788 | — |
| 3 | Owens Community College Perrysburg, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $45,468 | 35% | — | — |
| 4 | Scioto County Career Technical Center Lucasville, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $39,880 | 80% | — | — |
| 5 | Columbus State Community College Columbus, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | — | 28% | — | — |
| 6 | University of Cincinnati - Clermont College Batavia, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $56,683 | 24% | — | — |
| 7 | Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $57,923 | 41% | — | — |
| 8 | Lorain County Community College Elyria, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $47,399 | 31% | — | — |
| 9 | Choffin Career and Technical Center Youngstown, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $41,456 | 94% | — | 100% |
| 10 | Stark State College North Canton, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $51,690 | 23% | — | — |
| 11 | Central Ohio Technical College Newark, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $51,178 | 30% | — | — |
| 12 | James A. Rhodes State College Lima, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $48,543 | 47% | — | — |
| 13 | Stautzenberger College - Brecksville Brecksville, OH Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $42,769 | 59% | $22,551 | — |
| 14 | Washington County Career Center - Adult Technical Training Marietta, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | — | 79% | — | — |
| 15 | Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $52,018 | 31% | — | — |
| 16 | Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Cincinnati, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $48,283 | 16% | — | — |
| 17 | Fortis College - Columbus Westerville, OH Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $48,753 | 40% | $29,428 | — |
| 18 | Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science Cincinnati, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | — | 73% | $22,576 | 46% |
| 19 | EHOVE Career Center Milan, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $42,445 | 96% | — | — |
| 20 | Marion Technical College Marion, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $45,850 | 31% | — | — |
| 21 | Lakeland Community College Kirtland, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $57,389 | 24% | — | — |
| 22 | Mercy College of Ohio Toledo, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $53,844 | 56% | $15,645 | 93% |
| 23 | Collins Career Technical Center Chesapeake, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Surgical Technology/Technologist | $48,457 | 55% | — | — |
All 23 schools in Ohio
Every school in Ohio with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckeye Hills Career Center | Rio Grande | Public | 27 | 1 |
| Stautzenberger College - Maumee | Maumee | Private for-profit | 25 | 1 |
| Owens Community College | Perrysburg | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Scioto County Career Technical Center | Lucasville | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Columbus State Community College | Columbus | Public | 17 | 1 |
| University of Cincinnati - Clermont College | Batavia | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Sinclair Community College | Dayton | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Lorain County Community College | Elyria | Public | 14 | 1 |
| Choffin Career and Technical Center | Youngstown | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Stark State College | North Canton | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Central Ohio Technical College | Newark | Public | 11 | 1 |
| James A. Rhodes State College | Lima | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Stautzenberger College - Brecksville | Brecksville | Private for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Washington County Career Center - Adult Technical Training | Marietta | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Cuyahoga Community College District | Cleveland | Public | 9 | 1 |
What surgical assistants earn in Ohio
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,800. Ohio pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Ohio employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Ohio
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Surgical Assistants page.
How to become a Surgical Assistant
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Ohio
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Surgical Assistants1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.0909Surgical Technology/Technologist
Common questions
Answers for people weighing surgical assistants programs in Ohio.
What degree do you need to become a Surgical Assistant?+
Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Surgical Technology/Technologist, which awarded 270 degrees in Ohio in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Surgical Assistant?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Allied Health Diagnostic. Together they graduate about 270 people a year in Ohio.
How much do surgical assistants earn in Ohio?+
The median is $77,450 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.9% above the U.S. median of $66,800. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for surgical assistants growing?+
BLS projects a +5.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 1,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Ohio?+
23 institutions in Ohio reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do surgical assistants work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Surgical First Assistant, Surgical Technician (Surgical Tech), Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA), Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-9093.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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