How much do Nebraska college graduates earn?

The median bachelor's program in Nebraska pays its graduates $42,030 in their first year, the median associate's program $41,699, and the median certificate program $35,315.

How much student debt do Nebraska graduates have?

The median bachelor's program in Nebraska leaves its graduates with $25,000 in federal debt (national $25,000), the median associate's program $12,526 (national $15,186), and the median certificate program $12,765 (national $10,780).

How many Nebraska colleges report graduate pay?

32 Nebraska schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 292 programs in all. 31 of them have at least one program with its own page here.

Nebraska Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

292 programs report first-year pay
31 schools with program pages
11 field rankings

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

The median Nebraska bachelor's program pays its graduates $42,030 in their first year, $1,988 more than the national median. Of the 8 bachelor's fields ranked in Nebraska, nursing pays the most ($74,175) and biology the least ($32,538). The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $25,000 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.

Median first-year pay, bachelor's$42,030Across 210 programs. National $40,042

Median pay after 5 years, bachelor's$55,956Across 194 programs. National $57,933

Median federal debt, bachelor's$25,000Across 217 programs. National $25,000

Prices compared with the US10% lowerBEA price level 90.1, US average 100

Pay and debt by credential

Medians across every Nebraska program at each credential that reports the figure, next to the national median.

Credential	Programs	Year 1 pay	National	Debt	National
Bachelor's	210	$42,030	$40,042	$25,000	$25,000
Associate's	67	$41,699	$38,507	$12,526	$15,186
Certificate	15	$35,315	$31,106	$12,765	$10,780

Bachelor's fields in Nebraska, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its Nebraska bachelor's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Nursing (BSN)	10	$74,175	$30,875
2	Business Administration	12	$47,476	$25,815
3	Subject-Area Teacher Education	5	$43,086	$24,943
4	Teacher Education	9	$41,322	$25,059
5	Criminal Justice	7	$40,128	$23,781
6	Psychology	8	$35,218	$25,716
7	Kinesiology and Exercise Science	6	$33,807	$26,750
8	Biology	7	$32,538	$26,151

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.

Associate's fields in Nebraska, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its Nebraska associate's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Nursing (ADN)	6	$63,938	$18,468
Liberal Arts and General Studies	5	$30,292	$10,214

One certificate field in Nebraska

Each row is one field's median across its Nebraska certificate programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Cosmetology	5	$23,179	$12,000

31 Nebraska schools

Every Nebraska school with at least one program page. School names link to the school's page, which ranks all its programs. Schools with one program link straight to that program.

School	City	Type	Programs
Bellevue University	Bellevue	Private nonprofit	21
Bryan College of Health Sciences	Lincoln	Private nonprofit	2
Capitol Beauty SchoolCosmetology (Certificate)	Omaha	For-profit	1
Central Community College	Grand Island	Public	8
Chadron State College	Chadron	Public	7
Clarkson College	Omaha	Private nonprofit	4
College of Hair Design-DowntownCosmetology (Certificate)	Lincoln	For-profit	1
College of Saint Mary	Omaha	Private nonprofit	2
Concordia University-Nebraska	Seward	Private nonprofit	8
Creighton University	Omaha	Private nonprofit	15
Doane University	Crete	Private nonprofit	8
Entourage Institute of Beauty and EstheticsCosmetology (Certificate)	Lincoln	For-profit	1
Hastings College	Hastings	Private nonprofit	3
Joseph's College CosmetologyCosmetology (Certificate)	Lincoln	For-profit	1
Metropolitan Community College Area	Omaha	Public	13
Mid-Plains Community College	North Platte	Public	3
Midland University	Fremont	Private nonprofit	6
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health	Omaha	Private nonprofit	4
Nebraska Wesleyan University	Lincoln	Private nonprofit	9
Northeast Community College	Norfolk	Public	18
Peru State College	Peru	Public	4
Southeast Community College Area	Lincoln	Public	24
Union Adventist University	Lincoln	Private nonprofit	3
University of Nebraska at Kearney	Kearney	Public	17
University of Nebraska at Omaha	Omaha	Public	34
University of Nebraska Medical Center	Omaha	Public	4
University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Lincoln	Public	57
Wayne State College	Wayne	Public	10
Western Nebraska Community CollegeNursing (ADN)	Scottsbluff	Public	1
Xenon A Stephanie Moss AcademyCosmetology (Certificate)	Omaha	For-profit	1
York UniversityBusiness Administration (Bachelor's)	York	Private nonprofit	1

"Programs" counts the school's programs that report first-year pay.

Common questions

The median nursing bachelor's program in Nebraska pays its graduates $74,175 in their first year, the most of 8 bachelor's fields ranked here. Business administration is next, at $47,476.

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.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
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 Nebraska figures when their main campus is in another state.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024