Midlands Technical College Practical Nursing (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
- Public college
- West Columbia, SC
- About 63 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Midlands Technical College practical nursing graduates earn about what practical nursing graduates earn nationally, $46,823 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $17,875 in federal loans, close to the national median of $14,730. Several South Carolina programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The South Carolina and national columns are the medians across all practical nursing certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Midlands Technical College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,330 less than the South Carolina median. Several South Carolina programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every South Carolina practical nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the South Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay falls about 17% between the first and fifth year. Licensed practical and vocational nurses in South Carolina earn a median of $61,820 across all experience levels, which shows how much room there is to grow after the first few years.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate. BLS figures cover licensed practical and vocational nurses at every experience level.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $190 a month, or 4.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
100% of graduates (18 of 18) were working in South Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Columbia area are about 6% below the national average, so a $46,823 salary here buys what about $49,991 buys in a typical US city.
The median South Carolina LPN or LVN earns $61,820, compared with a national median of $64,400. After adjusting for South Carolina prices, that pay is worth about $65,942, which puts South Carolina slightly ahead.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to practical nursing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Nursing Assistants
$37,220Median pay in South Carolina. 21,760 people work in this job in South Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 196,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
$61,820Median pay in South Carolina. 9,400 people work in this job in South Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 51,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
About Midlands Technical College
Practical Nursing ranks 3rd of 8 certificate programs at Midlands Technical College by first-year earnings. The top three are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($47,834), Welding and Machining ($47,556), and Practical Nursing ($46,823).
Other practical nursing certificate programs near West Columbia
Common questions
The median graduate earns $46,823 one year after graduating and $39,060 five years after. Licensed practical and vocational nurses in the Columbia metro area earn a median of $62,110 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $17,875, which ranks 3rd lowest of 6 practical nursing certificate programs in South Carolina. That works out to about $190 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 38% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. Compare the cost with other South Carolina programs before deciding.
Most do. 100% (18 of 18) were working in South Carolina one year after graduating.
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 South Carolina 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 practical 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