West Kentucky Community and Technical College Practical Nursing (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
- Public college
- Paducah, KY
- About 328 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
West Kentucky Community and Technical College practical nursing graduates earn less than graduates of most practical nursing programs nationally, $31,020 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $9,500 in federal loans, less than at 83% of practical nursing programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Kentucky median of $31,865.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Kentucky and national columns are the medians across all practical nursing certificate programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky practical nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kentucky 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 $101 a month, or 3.9% 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
89% of graduates (80 of 90) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating. Prices in the Paducah area are about 14% below the national average, so a $31,020 salary here buys what about $36,035 buys in a typical US city.
The median Kentucky LPN or LVN earns $60,460, compared with a national median of $64,400. After adjusting for Kentucky prices, that pay is worth about $67,059, which puts Kentucky 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
$38,370Median pay in Kentucky. 23,410 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$60,460Median pay in Kentucky. 8,570 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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 West Kentucky Community and Technical College
Practical Nursing ranks 5th of 10 certificate programs at West Kentucky Community and Technical College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($36,332), Vehicle Maintenance and Repair ($35,929), and Welding and Machining ($35,603).
Other practical nursing certificate programs near Paducah
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,020 one year after graduating. Licensed practical and vocational nurses in the Paducah metro area earn a median of $62,060 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $9,500, which ranks 5th lowest of 17 practical nursing certificate programs in Kentucky. That works out to about $101 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 31% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Kentucky programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 89% (80 of 90) were working in Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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