Pierpont Community and Technical College Practical Nursing (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
- Public college
- Fairmont, WV
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Pierpont Community and Technical College practical nursing graduates earn about what practical nursing graduates earn nationally, $39,018 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $21,447 in federal loans, more than at 89% of practical nursing programs in the country. Several West Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The West Virginia and national columns are the medians across all practical nursing certificate programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every West Virginia practical nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the West Virginia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $227 a month, or 7.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
93% of graduates (25 of 27) were working in West Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas are about 13% below the national average, so a $39,018 salary here buys what about $44,834 buys in a typical US city.
The median West Virginia LPN or LVN earns $55,360, compared with a national median of $64,400. After adjusting for West Virginia prices, that pay is worth about $61,857, which puts West Virginia slightly behind.
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
$36,720Median pay in West Virginia. 9,390 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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
$55,360Median pay in West Virginia. 6,050 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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 Pierpont Community and Technical College
Practical Nursing ranks 2nd of 2 certificate programs at Pierpont Community and Technical College by first-year earnings. The other is Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($58,605).
Other practical nursing certificate programs near Fairmont
Common questions
The median graduate earns $39,018 one year after graduating. Licensed practical and vocational nurses in West Virginia earn a median of $55,360 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $21,447, which ranks 10th lowest of 10 practical nursing certificate programs in West Virginia. That works out to about $227 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 55% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. Compare the cost with other West Virginia programs before deciding.
Most do. 93% (25 of 27) were working in West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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