SUNY Polytechnic Institute Nursing (BSN): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
- Public school
- Utica, NY
- About 25 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
SUNY Polytechnic Institute nursing graduates earn about what nursing graduates earn nationally, $80,210 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $21,500 in federal loans, less than at 85% of nursing programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying nursing degrees in New York.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all nursing bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, SUNY Polytechnic Institute graduates earn more than the national figure but about $11,354 less than the New York median. Several New York programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 17% between the first and fifth year. Registered nurses in New York earn a median of $109,440 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.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $228 a month, or 3.4% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (43 of 52) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the Utica area are about 7% below the national average, so a $80,210 salary here buys what about $86,547 buys in a typical US city.
The median New York RN earns $109,440, compared with a national median of $97,550. After adjusting for New York prices, that pay is worth about $101,408, which puts New York 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
$109,440Median pay in New York. 205,810 people work in this job in New York. 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
$164,120Median pay in New York. 33,200 people work in this job in New York. 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
$153,510Median pay in New York. 22,890 people work in this job in New York. 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
$321,030Median pay in New York. 2,450 people work in this job in New York. 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 SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Nursing ranks 1st of 18 bachelor's programs at SUNY Polytechnic Institute by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,210), Other Engineering ($78,264), and Electrical Engineering ($66,211).
Other nursing bachelor's programs near Utica
Common questions
The median graduate earns $80,210 one year after graduating and $93,501 five years after. Registered nurses in the Utica metro area earn a median of $94,300 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $21,500, which ranks 8th lowest of 50 nursing bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $228 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 27% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several New York programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 83% (43 of 52) were working in New York 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 York 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