Rio Grande Valley College Nursing (ADN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Private for-profit college
- Pharr, TX
- About 43 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Rio Grande Valley College nursing graduates earn more than graduates of most nursing programs nationally, $77,845 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,226 in federal loans, more than at 80% of nursing programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying nursing degrees in Texas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all nursing associate's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas 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 $289 a month, or 4.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
100% of graduates (16 of 16) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the McAllen area are about 14% below the national average, so a $77,845 salary here buys what about $90,628 buys in a typical US city.
The median Texas RN earns $95,970, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for Texas prices, that pay is worth about $98,880, which puts Texas 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
$95,970Median pay in Texas. 271,380 people work in this job in Texas. 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
$114,150Median pay in Texas. 58,420 people work in this job in Texas. 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
$131,670Median pay in Texas. 25,970 people work in this job in Texas. 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
$244,990Median pay in Texas. 4,060 people work in this job in Texas. 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 Rio Grande Valley College
Nursing is the only associate's program at Rio Grande Valley College that reports first-year earnings.
Other nursing associate's programs near Pharr
Common questions
The median graduate earns $77,845 one year after graduating. Registered nurses in the McAllen metro area earn a median of $80,540 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $27,226, which ranks 46th lowest of 49 nursing associate's programs in Texas. That works out to about $289 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 35% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 29%. Compare the cost with other Texas programs before deciding.
Most do. 100% (16 of 16) were working in Texas 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 Texas 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