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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.

$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.

Top 15 nursing programs by median completer earnings

Nursing bachelor's (CIP 51.38) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

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.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
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.