Howard University Nursing (BSN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Private nonprofit university
- Washington, DC
- About 43 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Howard University nursing graduates earn about what nursing graduates earn nationally, $79,646 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. Several District of Columbia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The District of Columbia and national columns are the medians across all nursing bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Howard University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $10,955 more than the District of Columbia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the District of Columbia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 32% between the first and fifth year. Registered nurses in District of Columbia earn a median of $102,540 across all experience levels.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate. BLS figures cover registered nurses at every experience level.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned slightly more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 4.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
32 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $67,259.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $79,646 salary here buys what about $73,148 buys in a typical US city.
The median District of Columbia RN earns $102,540, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for District of Columbia prices, that pay is worth about $93,302, which puts District of Columbia slightly behind.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to nursing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Registered Nurses
$102,540Median pay in District of Columbia. 11,440 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.
Medical and Health Services Managers
$155,140Median pay in District of Columbia. 2,010 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Nurse Practitioners
$135,880Median pay in District of Columbia. 680 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 41% from 2025 to 2035, with about 29,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Nurse Anesthetists
$236,590Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Howard University
Nursing ranks 3rd of 14 bachelor's programs at Howard University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Systems Analysis ($92,324), Finance ($81,074), and Nursing ($79,646).
Other nursing bachelor's programs near Washington
Common questions
The median graduate earns $79,646 one year after graduating and $105,029 five years after. Registered nurses in the Washington metro area earn a median of $102,710 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 3rd lowest of 6 nursing bachelor's programs in District of Columbia. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several District of Columbia programs report higher pay.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of District of Columbia comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the nursing program.
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
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024