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

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$1,385,383

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$39,950

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Marshall University Grad rate: 49.2%	WV	+$2,967,324	$194,626	$21,299	N/A	Full ROI →
2	Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans	LA	+$2,873,320	$185,666	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
3	Virginia Commonwealth University Grad rate: 64.9%	VA	+$2,660,916	$181,915	$34,346	N/A	Full ROI →
4	California State University-Fullerton Grad rate: 69.3%	CA	+$2,411,252	$165,916	$16,767	N/A	Full ROI →
5	University of Missouri-Kansas City Grad rate: 56.0%	MO	+$2,396,580	$166,758	$24,645	N/A	Full ROI →
6	University of Southern Mississippi Grad rate: 51.1%	MS	+$2,338,112	$164,002	$25,482	N/A	Full ROI →
7	Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center	TX	+$2,167,720	$150,386	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
8	University of San Francisco Grad rate: 72.8%	CA	+$2,082,236	$161,396	$76,421	N/A	Full ROI →
9	University at Buffalo Grad rate: 73.5%	NY	+$1,964,668	$146,042	$29,043	N/A	Full ROI →
10	Pace University Grad rate: 61.4%	NY	+$1,931,652	$152,201	$68,092	N/A	Full ROI →
11	California State University-Fresno Grad rate: 55.5%	CA	+$1,862,600	$138,860	$18,650	N/A	Full ROI →
12	The University of Tennessee Health Science Center	TN	+$1,814,880	$132,744	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
13	Fairfield University Grad rate: 84.0%	CT	+$1,776,636	$145,506	$73,371	N/A	Full ROI →
14	Texas Christian University Grad rate: 84.7%	TX	+$1,768,728	$144,992	$72,778	N/A	Full ROI →
15	University of Massachusetts Global	CA	+$1,689,600	$133,153	$33,365	N/A	Full ROI →
16	University of California-San Francisco	CA	+$1,676,460	$125,823	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
17	Yale University Grad rate: 97.0%	CT	+$1,662,800	$142,164	$85,120	N/A	Full ROI →
18	Walden University	MN	+$1,634,160	$123,708	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
19	University of Alabama at Birmingham Grad rate: 63.4%	AL	+$1,626,156	$128,873	$27,826	N/A	Full ROI →
20	Chamberlain University-Illinois Grad rate: 44.4%	IL	+$1,625,196	$130,529	$36,346	N/A	Full ROI →
21	Chatham University Grad rate: 67.0%	PA	+$1,580,996	$132,446	$56,981	N/A	Full ROI →
22	East Carolina University Grad rate: 63.6%	NC	+$1,553,584	$124,417	$23,689	N/A	Full ROI →
23	Ohio State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 87.9%	OH	+$1,545,460	$125,137	$29,320	N/A	Full ROI →
24	Grand Canyon University Grad rate: 44.0%	AZ	+$1,537,808	$125,189	$31,493	N/A	Full ROI →
25	Concordia University-Wisconsin Grad rate: 65.3%	WI	+$1,526,908	$128,689	$51,718	N/A	Full ROI →
26	Rutgers University-Newark Grad rate: 66.9%	NJ	+$1,517,344	$124,617	$33,749	N/A	Full ROI →
27	Rutgers University-Camden Grad rate: 65.7%	NJ	+$1,517,092	$124,617	$33,812	N/A	Full ROI →
28	Rutgers University-New Brunswick Grad rate: 84.7%	NJ	+$1,511,412	$124,617	$35,232	N/A	Full ROI →
29	Rush University	IL	+$1,511,220	$117,561	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
30	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Grad rate: 45.6%	CO	+$1,497,264	$121,537	$23,369	N/A	Full ROI →
31	University of South Florida Grad rate: 74.4%	FL	+$1,478,156	$120,368	$22,301	N/A	Full ROI →
32	The University of Alabama Grad rate: 73.2%	AL	+$1,465,384	$121,674	$32,024	N/A	Full ROI →
33	Columbia University in the City of New York Grad rate: 95.1%	NY	+$1,454,352	$131,926	$86,042	N/A	Full ROI →
34	Wilkes University Grad rate: 59.8%	PA	+$1,430,716	$124,927	$56,956	N/A	Full ROI →
35	University of Portland Grad rate: 79.7%	OR	+$1,423,688	$127,021	$69,183	N/A	Full ROI →
36	Mount Saint Mary College Grad rate: 63.5%	NY	+$1,417,120	$123,218	$51,810	N/A	Full ROI →
37	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Grad rate: 66.4%	WI	+$1,416,524	$117,029	$21,014	N/A	Full ROI →
38	University of South Alabama Grad rate: 50.1%	AL	+$1,416,500	$117,239	$22,070	N/A	Full ROI →
39	Washington State University Grad rate: 62.0%	WA	+$1,400,856	$117,478	$27,176	N/A	Full ROI →
40	George Washington University Grad rate: 85.0%	DC	+$1,396,132	$127,952	$80,727	N/A	Full ROI →
41	Augusta University Grad rate: 49.4%	GA	+$1,392,636	$116,061	$22,146	N/A	Full ROI →
42	North Dakota State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 63.4%	ND	+$1,387,896	$116,073	$23,391	N/A	Full ROI →
43	Maryville University of Saint Louis Grad rate: 69.3%	MO	+$1,382,848	$120,161	$45,093	N/A	Full ROI →
44	University of Illinois Chicago Grad rate: 60.9%	IL	+$1,367,308	$115,765	$26,998	N/A	Full ROI →
45	Eastern Kentucky University Grad rate: 49.5%	KY	+$1,341,580	$113,532	$22,265	N/A	Full ROI →
46	Duke University Grad rate: 96.2%	NC	+$1,317,124	$124,406	$82,749	N/A	Full ROI →
47	Temple University Grad rate: 76.3%	PA	+$1,315,104	$115,715	$39,799	N/A	Full ROI →
48	University of Massachusetts-Boston Grad rate: 51.1%	MA	+$1,312,488	$113,564	$29,698	N/A	Full ROI →
49	California State University-Long Beach Grad rate: 71.3%	CA	+$1,309,120	$111,518	$20,310	N/A	Full ROI →
50	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	+$1,308,872	$113,500	$30,282	N/A	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.