The Highest-Paid Nursing Programs in the U.S., by Actual Graduate Earnings

Not a survey — federal earnings records for each school's own nursing-program graduates, one year after finishing. Median pay, median loan debt, and the 2025 NCLEX pass rate, side by side. This is data most school-ranking sites don't publish.

Top 25 BSN Programs by Graduate Pay

Median earnings of the school's bachelor's-level nursing graduates, one year out. Figures lag the current class by several years.

#	School	State	Median pay, 1 yr out	Median debt	Best 2025 NCLEX-RN rate
1	Sonoma State UniversityRohnert Park	California	$125,646	$12,500	95.7%
2	California State University, East BayHayward	California	$124,392	$14,747	86.8%
3	Samuel Merritt UniversityOakland	California	$119,486	$20,000	85%
4	California State University, StanislausTurlock	California	$119,356	$22,000	92.5%
5	Pacific Union CollegeAngwin	California	$119,258	$29,833	92.4%
6	Helene Fuld College of Nursing	New York	$119,170	—	80.1%
7	San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco	California	$117,532	$15,233	81.8%
8	California State University, SacramentoSacramento	California	$116,001	$13,750	96.6%
9	Medgar Evers College	New York	$115,779	—	79.4%
10	York College	New York	$113,718	$13,380	97.8%
11	California State University, ChicoChico	California	$113,181	$16,500	93.2%
12	New York University	New York	$111,360	$18,500	81.9%
13	College of Staten Island	New York	$110,335	$20,084	78.3%
14	Wagner College	New York	$108,746	$25,000	91%
15	California State University, NorthridgeNorthridge	California	$106,780	$15,041	85.5%
16	University of HartfordWest Hartford	Connecticut	$106,348	$22,900	84%
17	Azusa Pacific UniversityAzusa	California	$105,521	$25,000	82.2%
18	Monroe University	New York	$105,209	$28,659	88.1%
19	Monroe University - PN-ADN-BS	New York	$105,209	$28,659	66.7%
20	Monroe University - PN-RN-BS	New York	$105,209	$28,659	—
21	University of Mount Saint Vincent	New York	$105,134	$25,000	75%
22	Bloomfield College of Montclair State UniversityBloomfield	New Jersey	$104,219	—	88.2%
23	Montclair State UniversityMontclair	New Jersey	$104,219	—	92%
24	Montclair State University School of NursingMontclair	New Jersey	$104,219	—	97.1%
25	California State University, San MarcosSan Marcos	California	$103,799	$24,246	95.2%

Top 25 ADN / Associate Programs by Graduate Pay

Same measure for associate-degree programs — often two years and a fraction of the tuition, with graduate pay that overlaps the BSN list.

#	School	State	Median pay, 1 yr out	Median debt	Best 2025 NCLEX-RN rate
1	Unitek CollegeFremont	California	$120,006	$18,594	86.3%
2	Yuba CollegeMarysville	California	$117,283	—	83.1%
3	Mendocino CollegeUkiah	California	$113,261	—	100%
4	Pacific Union CollegeAngwin	California	$110,696	$25,104	92.4%
5	Merced CollegeMerced	California	$107,024	—	97.9%
6	Moorpark CollegeMoorpark	California	$105,599	—	100%
7	American Career College, Los AngelesLos Angeles	California	$105,516	$27,565	—
8	Carrington College, SacramentoSacramento	California	$104,423	$26,825	—
9	Butte CollegeOrland	California	$104,268	$12,000	—
10	Cochran School of Nursing	New York	$102,553	$19,914	82.4%
11	University of Hawai‘i Maui CollegeKahului	Hawaii	$102,390	$12,000	84.6%
12	Santa Barbara City CollegeSanta Barbara	California	$101,955	$18,360	96.7%
13	Contra Costa CollegeSan Pablo	California	$101,064	—	80%
14	Santa Rosa Junior CollegeSanta Rosa	California	$100,800	$14,744	96.5%
15	Sacramento City CollegeSacramento	California	$100,622	$14,000	96%
16	City College of San FranciscoSan Francisco	California	$100,031	—	92.2%
17	Lemoore CollegeLemoore	California	$99,992	—	97.1%
18	Ventura CollegeVentura	California	$99,778	$17,523	100%
19	Shasta CollegeRedding	California	$99,544	$14,000	96.5%
20	Modesto Junior CollegeModesto	California	$99,339	—	91.2%
21	Cuesta CollegeSan Luis Obispo	California	$99,000	—	95.2%
22	American River CollegeSacramento	California	$98,951	$12,750	94.4%
23	College of the SequoiasVisalia	California	$98,926	$6,750	89.2%
24	College of MarinKentfield	California	$98,893	$14,000	88.1%
25	College of the RedwoodsEureka	California	$98,703	—	82.9%

Every salary on this page starts with passing the NCLEX

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do graduates of some nursing schools earn so much more?

Mostly geography: the top of these lists is dominated by schools in high-wage, high-cost states like California, where new-grad RN pay runs far above the national median. Hospital systems attached to a school and strong local job markets matter too. Compare pay against the local cost of living, not just the raw number.

Do BSN graduates earn more than ADN graduates?

At the same hospital, starting pay for ADN and BSN nurses is often close — the license is the same. The BSN advantage shows up in hiring preference (especially Magnet hospitals), promotion eligibility, and the on-ramp to NP/CRNA graduate programs. In this federal data, school-to-school differences within a credential are larger than the ADN-vs-BSN gap.

How reliable are these earnings numbers?

They are medians for graduates of each school’s own nursing program who received federal aid, measured one year after finishing — not self-reported surveys. But they lag the current graduating class by several years and reflect where graduates work, so treat them as comparison floors between schools rather than salary predictions.

What about nurse practitioner and CRNA salaries?

Deliberately not on this page. The federal master’s-level bucket pools CRNA and NP graduates with direct-entry MSN students, so a single “MSN earnings” number would be misleading. For advanced-practice pay, look at role-specific data instead.

Methodology

Earnings and debt are program-level medians for federally aided graduates of each school's nursing programs (CIP 51.38), by credential, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard field-of-study files (June 2026 release). Pass rates are 2025 first-time NCLEX-RN rates from state boards of nursing. Schools without published program-level earnings — including most hospital-based programs — appear on their state pages instead.