Riverland Community College Practical Nursing (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
- Public college
- Austin, MN
- About 39 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Riverland Community College practical nursing graduates earn about what practical nursing graduates earn nationally, $44,726 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $22,356 in federal loans, more than at 91% of practical nursing programs in the country. Several Minnesota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all practical nursing certificate programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota practical nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota 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 $237 a month, or 6.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
73% of graduates (19 of 26) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Minnesota outside metro areas are about 14% below the national average, so a $44,726 salary here buys what about $52,097 buys in a typical US city.
The median Minnesota LPN or LVN earns $63,750, compared with a national median of $64,400. After adjusting for Minnesota prices, that pay is worth about $64,641, which puts Minnesota 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
$46,680Median pay in Minnesota. 29,120 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$63,750Median pay in Minnesota. 12,840 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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 Riverland Community College
Practical Nursing ranks 3rd of 3 certificate programs at Riverland Community College by first-year earnings. The others are Electrician Training ($47,288) and Truck Driving and Equipment Operation ($45,619).
Other practical nursing certificate programs near Austin
Common questions
The median graduate earns $44,726 one year after graduating. Licensed practical and vocational nurses in Minnesota earn a median of $63,750 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $22,356, which ranks 13th lowest of 16 practical nursing certificate programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $237 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 50% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. Compare the cost with other Minnesota programs before deciding.
Most do. 73% (19 of 26) were working in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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