North Arkansas College Practical Nursing (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
- Public college
- Harrison, AR
- About 70 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
North Arkansas College practical nursing graduates earn less than graduates of most practical nursing programs nationally, $38,783 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $10,322 in federal loans, less than at 79% of practical nursing programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying practical nursing programs in Arkansas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arkansas and national columns are the medians across all practical nursing certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, North Arkansas College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,194 less than the Arkansas median. Several Arkansas programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas practical nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arkansas 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 rises about 12% between the first and fifth year. Licensed practical and vocational nurses in Arkansas earn a median of $56,620 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 $109 a month, or 3.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
78% of graduates (18 of 23) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas are about 17% below the national average, so a $38,783 salary here buys what about $46,753 buys in a typical US city.
The median Arkansas LPN or LVN earns $56,620, compared with a national median of $64,400. After adjusting for Arkansas prices, that pay is worth about $65,128, which puts Arkansas 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
$34,430Median pay in Arkansas. 17,260 people work in this job in Arkansas. 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
$56,620Median pay in Arkansas. 10,010 people work in this job in Arkansas. 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 North Arkansas College
Practical Nursing ranks 2nd of 3 certificate programs at North Arkansas College by first-year earnings. The others are Truck Driving and Equipment Operation ($39,576) and Health Sciences ($33,196).
Other practical nursing certificate programs near Harrison
Common questions
The median graduate earns $38,783 one year after graduating and $43,463 five years after. Licensed practical and vocational nurses in Arkansas earn a median of $56,620 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $10,322, which ranks the lowest of 9 practical nursing certificate programs in Arkansas. That works out to about $109 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 27% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Arkansas programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 78% (18 of 23) were working in Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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