Best Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

952

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$323,095

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$18,123

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Contra Costa College Grad rate: 28.2%	CA	+$1,780,509	$133,295	$14,511	$12,125	Full ROI →
2	Sacramento City College Grad rate: 28.5%	CA	+$1,570,087	$123,056	$13,062	$18,451	Full ROI →
3	Ohlone College Grad rate: 55.1%	CA	+$1,432,968	$115,939	$22,906	N/A	Full ROI →
4	College of Marin Grad rate: 34.4%	CA	+$1,367,893	$114,267	$23,789	$22,125	Full ROI →
5	Los Angeles Southwest College Grad rate: 22.6%	CA	+$1,352,584	$111,106	$14,768	N/A	Full ROI →
6	Los Angeles City College Grad rate: 23.8%	CA	+$1,321,637	$110,644	$16,176	$13,993	Full ROI →
7	Yuba College Grad rate: 30.3%	CA	+$1,277,735	$107,696	$12,200	$8,729	Full ROI →
8	Santa Rosa Junior College Grad rate: 32.2%	CA	+$1,257,757	$107,245	$13,649	$14,700	Full ROI →
9	College of Staten Island CUNY Grad rate: 33.7%	NY	+$1,199,694	$104,567	$14,084	$17,391	Full ROI →
10	Unitek College Grad rate: 74.5%	CA	+$1,184,483	$105,890	$28,357	$27,113	Full ROI →
11	City College of San Francisco Grad rate: 38.3%	CA	+$1,177,337	$103,265	$17,007	$10,332	Full ROI →
12	College of San Mateo Grad rate: 50.6%	CA	+$1,098,148	$98,961	$11,875	$12,831	Full ROI →
13	Solano Community College Grad rate: 33.8%	CA	+$1,078,185	$97,762	$11,440	$10,500	Full ROI →
14	Chabot College Grad rate: 37.9%	CA	+$1,040,189	$96,258	$12,953	$14,122	Full ROI →
15	CUNY Hostos Community College Grad rate: 19.0%	NY	+$1,039,345	$95,978	$12,390	$11,433	Full ROI →
16	Santa Barbara City College Grad rate: 37.9%	CA	+$1,036,096	$97,093	$18,682	$21,037	Full ROI →
17	Clackamas Community College Grad rate: 21.2%	OR	+$1,020,190	$94,082	$10,725	N/A	Full ROI →
18	Pacific Union College Grad rate: 48.8%	CA	+$1,016,262	$99,360	$47,244	$27,000	Full ROI →
19	American River College Grad rate: 29.5%	CA	+$1,002,247	$94,784	$12,986	$20,341	Full ROI →
20	CUNY Queensborough Community College Grad rate: 24.7%	NY	+$979,134	$93,338	$11,882	$17,675	Full ROI →
21	Carrington College-Sacramento Grad rate: 51.8%	CA	+$973,375	$97,140	$40,588	$35,740	Full ROI →
22	Merced College Grad rate: 29.1%	CA	+$970,583	$92,662	$12,722	$12,750	Full ROI →
23	Columbia College Grad rate: 28.7%	CA	+$943,798	$92,056	$19,688	$13,293	Full ROI →
24	Cochran School of Nursing	NY	+$934,456	$90,529	N/A	$26,758	Full ROI →
25	Antelope Valley Community College District Grad rate: 30.5%	CA	+$933,612	$90,967	$15,158	$11,416	Full ROI →
26	Napa Valley College Grad rate: 31.7%	CA	+$932,434	$90,778	$21,563	N/A	Full ROI →
27	College of the Canyons Grad rate: 43.4%	CA	+$927,386	$90,558	$10,243	$17,250	Full ROI →
28	Butte College Grad rate: 32.8%	CA	+$914,351	$90,119	$13,636	$15,375	Full ROI →
29	Rockland Community College Grad rate: 29.6%	NY	+$900,753	$89,747	$14,941	$18,003	Full ROI →
30	Blue Mountain Community College Grad rate: 22.0%	OR	+$899,101	$90,500	$18,425	$25,221	Full ROI →
31	CUNY Bronx Community College Grad rate: 19.5%	NY	+$897,876	$89,270	$11,987	$17,444	Full ROI →
32	Los Angeles Harbor College Grad rate: 32.5%	CA	+$897,638	$89,932	$19,463	$16,352	Full ROI →
33	Nassau Community College Grad rate: 22.2%	NY	+$891,368	$89,190	$13,907	$18,235	Full ROI →
34	Modesto Junior College Grad rate: 25.4%	CA	+$884,275	$88,452	$14,769	$11,279	Full ROI →
35	Rio Hondo College Grad rate: 26.0%	CA	+$869,945	$88,475	$19,308	$15,510	Full ROI →
36	Ventura College Grad rate: 40.8%	CA	+$856,938	$87,190	$9,762	$20,250	Full ROI →
37	Citrus College Grad rate: 42.8%	CA	+$854,656	$85,974	$12,412	N/A	Full ROI →
38	Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing	MA	+$846,965	$86,407	N/A	$30,500	Full ROI →
39	CUNY New York City College of Technology Grad rate: 20.4%	NY	+$839,982	$85,947	$13,404	$9,000	Full ROI →
40	Shasta College Grad rate: 30.2%	CA	+$830,668	$85,734	$11,881	$15,000	Full ROI →
41	Cypress College Grad rate: 34.4%	CA	+$829,896	$85,070	$15,752	N/A	Full ROI →
42	San Diego City College Grad rate: 23.9%	CA	+$821,710	$84,411	$13,255	N/A	Full ROI →
43	Renton Technical College Grad rate: 57.8%	WA	+$816,000	$85,561	$15,067	$18,582	Full ROI →
44	Bakersfield College Grad rate: 22.4%	CA	+$813,272	$84,672	$13,726	$9,419	Full ROI →
45	Cuesta College Grad rate: 44.0%	CA	+$812,164	$85,944	$20,561	$18,958	Full ROI →
46	Moorpark College Grad rate: 40.2%	CA	+$809,238	$84,583	$9,685	$17,075	Full ROI →
47	Swedish Institute a College of Health Sciences Grad rate: 40.4%	NY	+$806,381	$88,405	$37,403	$34,750	Full ROI →
48	Mount Saint Mary's University Grad rate: 56.7%	CA	+$799,206	$89,999	$64,637	$23,333	Full ROI →
49	Pasadena City College Grad rate: 41.1%	CA	+$794,802	$83,823	$12,166	$12,834	Full ROI →
50	Fresno City College Grad rate: 25.8%	CA	+$791,454	$83,319	$12,063	$8,000	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find Best Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Degrees by State

Browse Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.