Salem Community College Nursing (ADN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Public college
- Carneys Point, NJ
- About 59 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Salem Community College nursing graduates earn more than graduates of most nursing programs nationally, $74,062 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,395 in federal loans, close to the national median of $20,423. Several New Jersey programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New Jersey and national columns are the medians across all nursing associate's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New Jersey 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 $269 a month, or 4.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
74% of graduates (17 of 23) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the Philadelphia area are about 3% above the national average, so a $74,062 salary here buys what about $72,218 buys in a typical US city.
The median New Jersey RN earns $106,500, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for New Jersey prices, that pay is worth about $97,882, which puts New Jersey 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
$106,500Median pay in New Jersey. 92,680 people work in this job in New Jersey. 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
$145,650Median pay in New Jersey. 16,900 people work in this job in New Jersey. 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
$159,310Median pay in New Jersey. 9,950 people work in this job in New Jersey. 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
$291,350Median pay in New Jersey. 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 Salem Community College
Nursing ranks 1st of 2 associate's programs at Salem Community College by first-year earnings. The other is Other Precision Production ($29,500).
Other nursing associate's programs near Carneys Point
Common questions
The median graduate earns $74,062 one year after graduating. Registered nurses in the Philadelphia metro area earn a median of $101,180 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $25,395, which ranks 13th lowest of 16 nursing associate's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $269 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 29%. Compare the cost with other New Jersey programs before deciding.
Most do. 74% (17 of 23) were working in New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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