Northern Michigan University Nursing (BSN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Public university
- Marquette, MI
- About 89 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Northern Michigan University nursing graduates earn less than graduates of most nursing programs nationally, $68,846 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $28,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all nursing bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Northern Michigan University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,326 less than the Michigan median. Several Michigan programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan 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 5% between the first and fifth year. Registered nurses in Michigan earn a median of $94,300 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 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 $4,145 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $297 a month, or 5.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 34 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $26,657.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
70% of graduates (105 of 149) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Michigan outside metro areas are about 11% below the national average, so a $68,846 salary here buys what about $77,379 buys in a typical US city.
The median Michigan RN earns $94,300, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for Michigan prices, that pay is worth about $98,008, which puts Michigan slightly ahead.
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
$94,300Median pay in Michigan. 104,950 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$107,570Median pay in Michigan. 16,060 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$131,450Median pay in Michigan. 8,290 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$247,010Median pay in Michigan. 2,300 people work in this job in Michigan. 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 Northern Michigan University
Nursing ranks 2nd of 26 bachelor's programs at Northern Michigan University by first-year earnings. The top three are Construction Management ($75,226), Nursing ($68,846), and Finance ($57,281).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $68,846 one year after graduating and $72,404 five years after. Registered nurses in Michigan earn a median of $94,300 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $28,000, which ranks 8th lowest of 22 nursing bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $297 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 41% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 70% (105 of 149) were working in Michigan 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 Michigan 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