College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 996 colleges (996 of 996 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$62,706

Graduates only, early career.$62,658 two years out.

Median federal debt

$22,959

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.36×

36% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing report early-career pay between $58,920 and $68,188 — a spread of $9,268 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $58,920 median $62,706 75th pct $68,188

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 33 colleges $55,577 $15,000 0.28×

Associate's 946 colleges $57,652 $15,250 0.27×

Bachelor's 996 colleges $62,706 $22,959 0.36×

Master's 449 colleges $94,674 $43,048 0.45×

Doctoral 117 colleges $109,263 $67,500 0.59×

Professional 25 colleges $105,127 $67,193 0.56×

Grad cert. 32 colleges $101,680 $43,564 0.45×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Mercy University NY $115,215 $10,500 debt

Pacific College CA $114,248 —

Sonoma State University CA $110,859 $12,500 debt

California State University-Monterey Bay CA $109,260 $5,500 debt

California State University-Sacramento CA $105,852 $13,750 debt

Helene Fuld College of Nursing NY $102,810 —

California State University-Dominguez Hills CA $102,298 $10,000 debt

Samuel Merritt University CA $101,572 $20,000 debt

San Francisco State University CA $99,655 $15,233 debt

California State University-East Bay CA $99,479 $14,747 debt

University of Providence MT $99,225 $16,698 debt

California State University-Stanislaus CA $98,218 $22,000 debt

Wagner College NY $98,065 $25,000 debt

College of Staten Island CUNY NY $97,852 $20,084 debt

Bay Path University MA $97,800 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard