US College Programs

Nursing (BSN) Programs in District of Columbia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 6 programs report first-year pay
  • 6 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median District of Columbia nursing bachelor's program pays its graduates $80,345 in their first year, $5,907 more than the national median. Georgetown University reports the highest first-year pay ($84,915), and Georgetown University the lowest median debt ($17,417).

Median first-year pay$80,345National $74,438
Median pay after 5 years$94,074National $81,525
Median federal debt$27,000National $27,000
Debt-to-earnings34%National 36%

All 6 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

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.

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia nursing program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the District of Columbia medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Georgetown University$84,915
  2. Strayer University-District of Columbia$81,061
  3. Catholic University of America$81,044
  4. Howard University$79,646
  5. Trinity Washington University$79,349

Lowest median debt

  1. Georgetown University$17,417
  2. George Washington University$26,500
  3. Catholic University of America$27,000
  4. Howard University$27,000
  5. Trinity Washington University$31,000

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Georgetown University21%
  2. Catholic University of America33%
  3. George Washington University33%
  4. Howard University34%
  5. Trinity Washington University39%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

What registered nurses earn in District of Columbia

Pay for registered nurses in District of Columbia, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Registered Nurses

$102,540

Median pay in District of Columbia. 11,440 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $79,390Top 10%: $151,170

Common questions

Georgetown University in Washington reports the highest median first-year pay, $84,915. Its median federal debt is $17,417.

Related pages

Nursing (BSN) programs in the US, ranked895 programs by pay and debt

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • 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 District of Columbia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the nursing bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024