truewise Honest US education data

Nursing

Health Professions · federal classification: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing

Nursing graduates with a bachelor's typically earned about $84,253, measured a few years after finishing (median across US programs, College Scorecard).
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Median earnings by degree level

Earnings range across schools, by degree levelEach row is a degree level: the bar is the middle half of schools' program medians (25th to 75th percentile) and the dot is the overall median. Certificate median $77,382, $70,494 to $85,381; Associate's median $79,392, $74,034 to $87,348; Bachelor's median $84,253, $78,464 to $92,746; Post-bacc cert median $116,853, $92,145 to $129,858; Grad cert median $130,010, $117,552 to $139,996; Master's median $119,920, $110,035 to $128,716; Doctoral median $134,294, $123,947 to $157,910; First prof median $136,052, $120,221 to $147,897; Non-credential median $109,913, $105,793 to $114,872.$70k$114k$158kCertificate$77,382Associate's$79,392Bachelor's$84,253Post-bacc cert$116,853Grad cert$130,010Master's$119,920Doctoral$134,294First prof$136,052Non-credential$109,913
Earnings range across schools, by degree levelEach row is a degree level: the bar is the middle half of schools' program medians (25th to 75th percentile) and the dot is the overall median. Certificate median $77,382, $70,494 to $85,381; Associate's median $79,392, $74,034 to $87,348; Bachelor's median $84,253, $78,464 to $92,746; Post-bacc cert median $116,853, $92,145 to $129,858; Grad cert median $130,010, $117,552 to $139,996; Master's median $119,920, $110,035 to $128,716; Doctoral median $134,294, $123,947 to $157,910; First prof median $136,052, $120,221 to $147,897; Non-credential median $109,913, $105,793 to $114,872.$70k$114k$158kCertificate$77,382Associate's$79,392Bachelor's$84,253Post-bacc cert$116,853Grad cert$130,010Master's$119,920Doctoral$134,294First prof$136,052Non-credential$109,913
DegreeMedian earningsTypical rangeSchoolsClear the bar
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$77,382$70,494 to $85,3815598%
Associate's Degree$79,392$74,034 to $87,348920100%
Bachelor's Degree$84,253$78,464 to $92,746903100%
Post-baccalaureate Certificate$116,853$92,145 to $129,8588100%
Graduate/Professional Certificate$130,010$117,552 to $139,99642100%
Master's Degree$119,920$110,035 to $128,716446100%
Doctoral Degree$134,294$123,947 to $157,910152100%
First Professional Degree$136,052$120,221 to $147,89730100%
Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)$109,913$105,793 to $114,8725100%

"Clear the bar" is the share of programs whose graduates out-earn a typical high-school graduate (the federal earnings-premium test). Typical range is the 25th to 75th percentile of program medians.

Job outlook

Projected employment growth +14% (2025 to 2035), about 283,800 openings a year across the occupations this field commonly leads to.

OccupationMedian payGrowthOpenings/yr
Registered Nurses$97,550+5.6%180,800
Medical and Health Services Managers$123,860+24.2%62,300
Nurse Practitioners$132,300+41%29,400
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary$80,250+17.1%8,500
Nurse Anesthetists$236,590+9.7%2,400
Nurse Midwives$134,040+11.5%400

Occupation pay and outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wages, Employment Projections). A field maps to several occupations, and the same occupations serve many majors, so these are the jobs this major commonly leads to, not positions reserved for its graduates; the openings should not be added up across majors.

Where this is studied

The 8 colleges where the most students complete a nursing program, of 2,093 that report one. Ordered by number of completions only: this is where people study it, not a judgement about where to.

Earnings source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10), median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.