Ottawa, KS has ten paramedic schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Flint Hills Technical College, the highest ranked school in this group with a paramedic program, has a total student population of 606. It is the 2993rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 37th highest in the state of Kansas (#1 is Southwestern College).
Paramedic students from Ottawa schools who go on to become paramedics, EMTs, emergency medical service workers, emergency medical technicians, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 217,920 people working as emergency medical technicians and paramedics alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $33,020. Also, Ambulance drivers and attendants make on average $23,140 per year and there are about 19,570 of them employed in the US today.
Ottawa lies in Franklin county, which is one of the 67 counties in Kansas. Overall, the Kansas City-KS area has 988,100 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.8% unemployment rate, $20.79/hr average worker wage, and a $43,240 average annual salary.
Of the 10 paramedic schools with a 100-mile radius of Ottawa, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, National American University-Independence comes out as the most expensive ($13,127/yr) for paramedic students, with Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley as the lowest, reported at only $3,266/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Ottawa |
| Lawrence | KS | 92,060 | 4 | 30.1334 | 36 | 23.8 miles |
| Olathe | KS | 125,326 | 3 | 26.6113 | 75 | 31.1 miles |
| Lenexa | KS | 49,185 | 2 | 9.677 | 29 | 35.1 miles |
| Topeka | KS | 124,629 | 5 | 27.0429 | 163 | 37.1 miles |
| Iola | KS | - | 1 | 14.0674 | 83 | 48.3 miles |
| Parkville | MO | - | 1 | 24.2346 | 91 | 51.0 miles |
| Lees Summit | MO | - | 1 | 10.817 | 19 | 52.0 miles |
| North Kansas City | MO | - | 1 | 17.668 | 0 | 52.1 miles |
| Kansas City | MO | 454,520 | 32 | 15.0915 | 547 | 52.1 miles |
| Independence | MO | 110,030 | 5 | 14.6026 | 91 | 59.3 miles |
| Blue Springs | MO | 57,147 | 1 | 22.3674 | 5 | 60.6 miles |
| Fort Scott | KS | - | 1 | 19.5238 | 38 | 61.7 miles |
| Atchison | KS | - | 2 | 13.325 | 58 | 66.0 miles |
| Manhattan | KS | 53,426 | 5 | 26.3003 | 178 | 81.5 miles |
| Saint Joseph | MO | 76,371 | 4 | 37.3685 | 160 | 82.7 miles |
| Parsons | KS | - | 1 | 16.7815 | 59 | 88.2 miles |