Nursing (ADN) Programs in North Dakota, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt
- 5 programs report first-year pay
- 5 also report federal debt
- Associate'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 North Dakota nursing associate's program pays its graduates $66,335 in their first year, $2,186 less than the national median. Dakota College at Bottineau reports the highest first-year pay ($71,421), and Williston State College the lowest median debt ($22,000).
All 5 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.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Dakota nursing program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Dakota medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Quick picks
Highest first-year pay
- Dakota College at Bottineau$71,421
- Lake Region State College$68,214
- Bismarck State College$66,335
- Williston State College$60,944
- North Dakota State College of Science$59,229
Lowest median debt
- Williston State College$22,000
- Bismarck State College$25,382
- Lake Region State College$27,310
- Dakota College at Bottineau$28,334
- North Dakota State College of Science$30,098
Lowest debt for the pay
"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 North Dakota
Pay for registered nurses in North Dakota, across all experience levels, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Registered Nurses
$80,730Median pay in North Dakota. 11,340 people work in this job in North Dakota. 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.
Common questions
Dakota College at Bottineau in Bottineau reports the highest median first-year pay, $71,421. Its median federal debt is $28,334.
Williston State College reports the lowest median federal debt, $22,000, with first-year pay of $60,944.
The median across 5 North Dakota nursing associate's programs is $66,335 in the first year after graduating and $67,782 five years after. Registered nurses in North Dakota earn a median of $80,730 across all experience levels.
5 North Dakota programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.
Related pages
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 North Dakota rankings when their main campus is in another state.
- Medians are across the nursing associate'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
- 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
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024