Registered Nursing
Registered Nursing is a licensure degree: clinical rotations plus the NCLEX exam lead straight into hospital and clinic roles. It posts some of the highest one-year earnings of any bachelor major because demand is deep in nearly every metro.
What Registered Nursing Pays Nationally
$84,093National Median Earnings
221,244Graduates Behind That Figure
1 year after finishingEarnings measured
The national median is the middle graduate across every college that offers this major at the bachelor level. It is also the figure we show for any single college whose own program is too small to trust - always badged, never passed off as that college's own number.
Top-Paying Registered Nursing Programs We Can Rank
| College | Major | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola University Chicago | Registered Nursing | $82,706 n=711 | $27,000 n=548 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Registered Nursing | $81,305 n=331 | $21,875 n=233 |
| Marquette University | Registered Nursing | $80,871 n=150 | $25,000 n=182 |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Registered Nursing | $79,733 n=466 | $25,000 n=414 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | Registered Nursing | $77,921 n=179 | $20,500 n=137 |
| University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | Registered Nursing | $73,156 n=170 | $21,625 n=152 |
Smaller Programs and National-Median Programs
These programs are too small for a trustworthy ranked figure, or their college figure is not published. They are listed, not ranked.
| College | Major | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Olaf College | Registered Nursing | $84,253 Small program - rough guide n=30 | Not published |
| DePaul University | Registered Nursing | $84,093 National median for this major n=221,244 | Not published |
Registered Nursing by State
Registered Nursing in Wisconsin Registered Nursing in Minnesota Registered Nursing in Illinois