Free tool · federal data
What does this major pay at different colleges?
Pick a major, a degree level and a state. You get what graduates of each college's program earned four years after graduating and what they borrowed in federal loans, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, with the national median for the same program as the yardstick.
Side by side
Is it worth it? The federal figures, side by side
Federal data cannot decide that for you, but it puts what graduates earned beside what they borrowed. Programs appear in the order you added them, with no ranking.
| Measure | Monroe CollegePractical Nursing, undergraduate certificate · NYRemove | Howard CollegePractical Nursing, undergraduate certificate · TXFigures cover 2 campusesRemove |
|---|---|---|
| Median earnings, 4 years after graduating | $111,045 (56 graduates) | $77,012 (38 graduates) |
| Federal debt borrowed at this college (median) | $7,875 | $8,500 |
| Monthly payment, 10-year plan | $83 | $90 |
| Payment as a share of median monthly earningsbefore tax | less than 1% | roughly 1% |
| National median, same program and degree | $56,073 | $56,073 |
| Typical program nearbythe state, or its Census division when the state has fewer than 3 programs | $77,453 (New York, 4 programs) | $57,703 (Texas, 31 programs) |
| Total federal debt counting every college attendeda second federal measure; it includes loans from colleges attended before this one | $9,468 | $14,461 |
Earnings: College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, for graduates who received federal aid, worked and were not enrolled. Debt: graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The monthly payment is a standard 10-year plan on the median debt borrowed at that college. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education.College cost is not shown here; each college's profile has its net price.
Your results
Practical Nursing, undergraduate certificate programs nationwide
Nationally, undergraduate certificate graduates in Practical Nursing earn a median $56,073 four years after graduating. Among 292 programs with federal earnings data, Monroe College (NY) graduates had the highest median, $111,045 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
- Programs with data
- 292
- Highest median
- $111,045
- National median
- $56,073
| College | State | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | vs national median | Debt borrowed at this college (median) | Add to the side-by-side comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe College | NY | $111,045 | +98% | $7,875 | In comparison |
| Saint Michael College of Allied Health | DC | $92,203 | +64% | $17,713 | Compare |
| Best Care College | NJ | $85,297 | +52% | $13,304 | Compare |
| Alvin Community College | TX | $80,511 | +44% | $4,500 | Compare |
| Jefferson College | MO | $79,734 | +42% | — | Compare |
| Laramie County Community College | WY | $79,624 | +42% | $11,376 | Compare |
| Schoolcraft Community College District | MI | $79,585 | +42% | $10,500 | Compare |
| AMG School of Nursing | NY | $79,191 | +41% | $14,167 | Compare |
| Standard Healthcare Services-College of Nursing | VA | $78,053 | +39% | $14,750 | Compare |
| Casper College | WY | $77,872 | +39% | $12,326 | Compare |
| Mount Wachusett Community College | MA | $77,523 | +38% | $12,134 | Compare |
| Southern State Community College | OH | $77,249 | +38% | $11,839 | Compare |
| Howard CollegeFigure covers 2 campuses | TX | $77,012 | +37% | $8,500 | In comparison |
| North Country Community College | NY | $75,715 | +35% | $9,500 | Compare |
| College of DuPage | IL | $75,450 | +35% | $8,312 | Compare |
| Kellogg Community College | MI | $74,860 | +34% | $13,000 | Compare |
| Berkshire Community College | MA | $74,410 | +33% | $10,500 | Compare |
| UCNJ Union College of Union County NJ | NJ | $74,280 | +32% | $15,250 | Compare |
| Mohave Community College | AZ | $74,186 | +32% | — | Compare |
| Clover Park Technical College | WA | $74,121 | +32% | $10,584 | Compare |
| PITC Institute | PA | $74,120 | +32% | $13,508 | Compare |
| Wor-Wic Community College | MD | $74,097 | +32% | $8,750 | Compare |
| Concorde Career College-San Diego | CA | $73,869 | +32% | $17,179 | Compare |
| Colorado Mesa University | CO | $73,377 | +31% | $19,250 | Compare |
| Kirkwood Community College | IA | $72,932 | +30% | — | Compare |
The 25 highest of 292 programs. Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality.
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Same major, other degree levels: Associate's
What these numbers are
Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed, and a multi-state system whose figure pools campuses in several states is left out of state lists. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Federal program group: Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates work as well as the program itself.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV).