Program ranking · CIP 51.38 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Nursing

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Nursing (CIP 51.38) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$150,921
Highest nursing earnings: 100
Colleges ranked: $102,386
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $102,386 median earnings for Nursing bachelor's (CIP 51.38) completers. California State University-East Bay leads at $150,921.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$150,921
#1 - California State University-East: $102,386
#100 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 1,207
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

California State Univers…

$150,921
San Francisco State Univ…

$150,102
Dominican University of …

$149,622
Samuel Merritt University

$148,193
Sonoma State University

$143,886
University of San Franci…

$143,356
Pacific Union College

$140,542
California State Univers…

$134,489
California State Univers…

$129,960
Berkeley College-Woodlan…

$128,038
Helene Fuld College of N…

$127,915
California State Univers…

$126,959
University of Bridgeport

$123,148
University of Mount Sain…

$120,822
San Diego State University

$120,799

What this shows Top nursing earnings often concentrate in California and other high-cost labor markets - compare debt and completer counts before treating pay as program quality.

The full top 100

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	California State University-East Bay	CA	$150,921	$14,747	171
2	San Francisco State University	CA	$150,102	$15,233	162
3	Dominican University of California	CA	$149,622	$27,000	115
4	Samuel Merritt University	CA	$148,193	$20,000	508
5	Sonoma State University	CA	$143,886	$12,500	63
6	University of San Francisco	CA	$143,356	$25,286	247
7	Pacific Union College	CA	$140,542	$29,833	36
8	California State University-Monterey Bay	CA	$134,489	$5,500	52
9	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$129,960	$13,750	196
10	Berkeley College-Woodland Park	NJ	$128,038	$31,394	55
11	Helene Fuld College of Nursing	NY	$127,915	-	33
12	California State University-Stanislaus	CA	$126,959	$22,000	125
13	University of Bridgeport	CT	$123,148	$22,125	136
14	University of Mount Saint Vincent	NY	$120,822	$25,000	269
15	San Diego State University	CA	$120,799	$17,375	212
16	American University of Health Sciences	CA	$120,284	$37,584	77
17	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$120,258	$12,500	120
18	California State University-San Marcos	CA	$120,196	$24,246	318
19	University of California-Irvine	CA	$119,502	$13,500	49
20	California State University-Fullerton	CA	$119,353	$12,500	432
21	University of Providence	MT	$119,206	$16,698	100
22	CUNY Lehman College	NY	$119,115	$13,341	167
23	Mount Saint Mary's University	CA	$119,050	$25,000	195
24	California State University-Dominguez Hills	CA	$118,588	$10,000	181
25	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$118,566	$19,420	54
26	Azusa Pacific University	CA	$118,549	$25,000	615
27	New York University	NY	$118,433	$18,500	431
28	Long Island University	NY	$118,331	$25,000	478
29	Mercy University	NY	$118,232	$10,500	330
30	California State University-Chico	CA	$117,543	$16,500	127
31	New York Institute of Technology	NY	$117,461	$31,500	56
32	Molloy University	NY	$117,011	$28,500	489
33	CUNY Graduate School and University Center	NY	$116,969	$8,000	212
34	California State University-Northridge	CA	$116,613	$15,041	155
35	CUNY Hunter College	NY	$116,361	$12,500	172
36	California State University-Los Angeles	CA	$116,182	$12,500	158
37	Upstate Medical University	NY	$116,111	-	35
38	Pace University	NY	$115,695	$21,500	234
39	Point Loma Nazarene University	CA	$114,919	$24,784	137
40	National University	CA	$114,413	$33,928	307
41	Wagner College	NY	$113,728	$25,000	96
42	College of Staten Island CUNY	NY	$113,631	$20,084	44
43	Simpson University	CA	$113,623	$28,010	48
44	Hawaii Pacific University	HI	$112,964	$22,500	114
45	Adelphi University	NY	$112,945	$25,375	430
46	California State University-Channel Islands	CA	$112,691	$15,238	100
47	St. Francis College	NY	$112,171	$29,295	82
48	CUNY York College	NY	$112,147	$13,380	49
49	Stony Brook University	NY	$111,898	$15,000	219
50	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$111,681	$16,743	221
51	West Coast University-Anaheim-Orange County	CA	$111,455	$34,145	934
52	West Coast University-Texas	TX	$111,455	$34,145	892
53	West Coast University-Ontario	CA	$111,455	$34,145	842
54	West Coast University-Miami	FL	$111,455	$34,145	276
55	California State University-Fresno	CA	$111,278	$17,966	177
56	Dominican University New York	NY	$111,206	$24,998	101
57	Biola University	CA	$111,200	$29,000	55
58	University of Hawaii at Hilo	HI	$111,027	$18,000	57
59	Loma Linda University	CA	$110,805	$23,888	183
60	University of Phoenix-Arizona	AZ	$109,844	$15,273	855
61	CUNY New York City College of Technology	NY	$109,738	$9,311	61
62	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	$109,499	$17,963	117
63	Monroe University	NY	$109,427	$28,659	92
64	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi	NY	$109,387	$16,736	174
65	Linfield University	OR	$109,374	$25,000	238
66	Saint Elizabeth University	NJ	$109,286	$12,500	74
67	Aspen University	AZ	$109,265	$10,188	1,526
68	Montclair State University	NJ	$109,167	-	49
69	Bloomfield College of Montclair State University	NJ	$109,167	-	34
70	Felician University	NJ	$109,098	$25,000	253
71	SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University	NY	$108,786	$12,500	117
72	Binghamton University	NY	$108,691	$13,045	169
73	Chaminade University of Honolulu	HI	$108,622	$28,000	71
74	Mount Saint Mary College	NY	$108,400	$27,000	112
75	California Baptist University	CA	$108,157	$33,323	168
76	Farmingdale State College	NY	$108,029	$16,289	82
77	SUNY Polytechnic Institute	NY	$108,014	$13,000	40
78	Walden University	MN	$106,892	$20,341	756
79	Miami Dade College	FL	$106,415	$9,687	206
80	Trinity Washington University	DC	$106,318	$27,250	29
81	Immaculata University	PA	$105,749	$26,899	79
82	Concordia University-Irvine	CA	$105,657	$20,312	108
83	University of Scranton	PA	$105,353	$27,000	74
84	Miami Regional University	FL	$104,989	$19,200	142
85	St. Joseph's University-New York	NY	$104,818	$27,000	84
86	Thomas Edison State University	NJ	$104,672	$15,000	163
87	Oregon Health & Science University	OR	$104,592	$16,625	391
88	University of Maryland Global Campus	MD	$104,450	$12,500	182
89	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$104,369	$27,000	69
90	Touro University Nevada	NV	$104,138	-	52
91	Grand Canyon University	AZ	$103,884	$17,188	4,755
92	Touro University	NY	$103,863	$22,000	59
93	University of Portland	OR	$103,823	$27,000	364
94	Bowie State University	MD	$103,814	$21,500	25
95	Caldwell University	NJ	$103,559	$26,000	79
96	Ramapo College of New Jersey	NJ	$103,534	$25,000	121
97	Sacred Heart University	CT	$103,244	$27,000	190
98	Monmouth University	NJ	$103,184	$27,000	26
99	Coppin State University	MD	$102,720	$23,000	67
100	New Jersey City University	NJ	$102,386	$12,500	222

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Nursing (CIP 51.38) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Nursing (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Registered Nursing / Nursing Administration / Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (CIP 51.38) bachelor's programs only - practical nursing (CIP 51.39) and generic Nursing (CIP 51.16) rows are ranked separately when they have enough published cohorts.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.