Which state pays nursing certificate graduates the most?

Ohio, where the median program pays its graduates $66,677 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. Pennsylvania is next, at $65,041.

Which nursing certificate program pays the most?

UPenn in Pennsylvania reports the highest first-year pay of the 37 programs ranked here, $160,797. Its median federal debt is $19,875.

How much debt do nursing certificate graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $23,858 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 38% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Nursing (Certificate) Programs in the US

41 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Certificate in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median nursing certificate program in the US pays its graduates $66,398 in their first year and $72,650 five years after. Ohio has the highest state median ($66,677), and Pennsylvania the lowest ($65,041). The median program leaves its graduates with $23,858 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$66,398Across 41 programs

Median pay after 5 years$72,650Across 42 programs

Median federal debt$23,858Across 52 programs

Debt-to-earnings38%Across 40 programs

All 37 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	UPennPhiladelphia, PA · private nonprofit	$160,797	Not adjusted	$163,262	$19,875	12%
2	Glendale Career CollegeGlendale, CA · private for-profit	$100,874	$91,107	Not reported	$33,930	34%
3	Cabrillo CollegeAptos, CA · public	$91,090	$82,271	$135,694	$15,000	16%
4	Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of NursingPhiladelphia, PA · private for-profit	$81,336	$83,360	Not reported	$20,000	25%
5	St Lukes Hospital School of NursingBethlehem, PA · private nonprofit	$79,203	$81,174	$71,912	$24,087	30%
6	Holy Name Medical Center-Sister Claire Tynan School of NursingEnglewood Cliffs, NJ · private nonprofit	$78,831	$72,452	$92,980	$28,794	37%
7	Ohio Institute of Allied HealthHuber Heights, OH · private nonprofit	$74,851	$80,681	Not reported	$26,003	35%
8	Joseph F McCloskey School of NursingPottsville, PA · private nonprofit	$74,192	$76,038	Not reported	$28,250	38%
9	Chesapeake CollegeWye Mills, MD · public	$72,090	$68,684	$74,652	$11,261	16%
10	Ohio Medical Career CollegeDayton, OH · private for-profit	$71,666	$77,248	Not reported	$26,331	37%
11	Reading Hospital School of Health SciencesReading, PA · private nonprofit	$71,638	$73,421	$81,739	$27,140	38%
12	Pueblo Community CollegePueblo, CO · public	$69,953	Not adjusted	Not reported	$19,250	28%
13	Watts College of NursingDurham, NC · private nonprofit	$69,634	$73,823	$66,494	$31,838	46%
14	Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of NursingBrockton, MA · private nonprofit	$69,052	$65,293	$81,187	$26,750	39%
15	Saint Elizabeth School of NursingLafayette, IN · private nonprofit	$68,665	$73,573	$67,283	$38,369	56%
16	Trinity Health System School of NursingSteubenville, OH · private nonprofit	$67,928	$73,219	$72,487	$20,689	30%
17	Athena Career AcademyToledo, OH · private for-profit	$67,468	Not adjusted	Not reported	$36,820	55%
18	Collins Career Technical CenterChesapeake, OH · public	$66,955	Not adjusted	Not reported	$23,629	35%
19	Mid-EastCTC-Adult EducationZanesville, OH · public	$66,398	$71,570	Not reported	$20,028	30%
20	Washington Health System School of NursingWashington, PA · private nonprofit	$66,293	$67,943	Not reported	$20,250	31%
21	Tri-Rivers Career CenterMarion, OH · public	$66,259	$71,420	Not reported	$26,278	40%
22	DLP Conemaugh Memorial Medical CenterJohnstown, PA · private for-profit	$65,041	$66,659	$73,639	$28,622	44%
23	UPMC Mercy School of NursingPittsburgh, PA · private nonprofit	$64,745	$66,356	$75,380	$26,366	41%
24	Sandusky Career CenterSandusky, OH · public	$64,563	$69,592	Not reported	$25,055	39%
25	Firelands Regional Medical Center School of NursingSandusky, OH · private nonprofit	$64,065	$69,055	$62,820	$29,535	46%
26	Columbiana County Career and Technical CenterLisbon, OH · public	$63,454	$68,396	Not reported	$20,637	33%
27	UPMC Shadyside School of NursingPittsburgh, PA · private nonprofit	$63,308	$64,883	$72,079	$29,250	46%
28	UPMC St. Margaret School of NursingPittsburgh, PA · private nonprofit	$62,563	$64,120	$70,468	$31,000	50%
29	Citizens School of NursingTarentum, PA · private nonprofit	$62,173	$63,720	$68,665	$24,146	39%
30	Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of NursingPittsburgh, PA · private nonprofit	$60,521	$62,027	$66,532	$19,624	32%
31	Graham Hospital School of NursingCanton, IL · private nonprofit	$60,300	$60,325	$63,039	$28,884	48%
32	UPMC Jameson School of NursingNew Castle, PA · private nonprofit	$60,007	$61,500	$72,813	$24,750	41%
33	Brightpoint Community CollegeChester, VA · public	$58,732	$58,091	$42,509	$13,850	24%
34	Northeast Iowa Community CollegeCalmar, IA · public	$57,546	$65,571	$62,635	$23,562	41%
35	Wytheville Community CollegeWytheville, VA · public	$48,425	$47,896	$50,577	$9,543	20%
36	Rio Grande Valley CollegePharr, TX · private for-profit	$45,266	$46,639	$52,221	$17,247	38%
37	Universal Technology College of Puerto RicoAguadilla, PR · private nonprofit	$15,053	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 32 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 5, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

One program reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked. 4 more programs report pay but aren't listed, because College Scorecard's school file doesn't name their schools. The national medians above still count them.

Nursing (Certificate) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's nursing certificate programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Ohio	10	$66,677	$25,529
Pennsylvania	13	$65,041	$25,558

Programs in 12 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing, PA$19,624
UPenn, PA$19,875
Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, PA$20,000
Mid-EastCTC-Adult Education, OH$20,028
Washington Health System School of Nursing, PA$20,250
Columbiana County Career and Technical Center, OH$20,637
Trinity Health System School of Nursing, OH$20,689
Collins Career Technical Center, OH$23,629
St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing, PA$24,087
Citizens School of Nursing, PA$24,146

Lowest debt for the pay

UPenn, PA12%
Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, PA25%
Mid-EastCTC-Adult Education, OH30%
St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing, PA30%
Trinity Health System School of Nursing, OH30%
Washington Health System School of Nursing, PA31%
Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing, PA32%
Columbiana County Career and Technical Center, OH33%
Ohio Institute of Allied Health, OH35%
Collins Career Technical Center, OH35%

Only the 23 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

What registered nurses earn

Pay for registered nurses across the US, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Registered Nurses

$97,550

Median pay in the US. 3,379,720 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 180,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $68,940Top 10%: $137,470

Common questions

The median nursing certificate program in the US pays its graduates $66,398 in their first year and $72,650 five years after. Registered nurses earn a median of $97,550 across all experience levels.

Nursing (BSN) programs in the US, ranked895 programs by pay and debt Nursing (ADN) programs in the US, ranked845 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024