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Best Colleges for Registered Nursing

50 Registered Nursing programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Registered Nursing, California State University-East Bay (California) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $150,921. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$150,921	$14,747	171	91.8
2	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$150,102	$15,233	162	91
3	Evergreen Valley College San Jose, CA	Associate's Degree	$140,512	$11,218	68	90
4	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$143,886	$12,500	63	89.4
5	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$134,489	$5,500	52	89.2
6	Samuel Merritt University Oakland, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$148,193	$20,000	508	88.7
7	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$129,960	$13,750	196	88.1
8	College of Marin Kentfield, CA	Associate's Degree	$147,805	$14,000	41	87.2
9	College of San Mateo San Mateo, CA	Associate's Degree	$144,794	$14,715	45	86.7
10	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$155,843	—	167	86.5
11	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	Master's Degree	$142,731	$20,500	174	86.1
12	Unitek College Fremont, CA	Associate's Degree	$150,789	$18,594	—	85.4
13	Mercy University Dobbs Ferry, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$118,232	$10,500	330	85
14	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT	Doctoral Degree	$240,887	—	—	84.9
15	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$119,353	$12,500	432	84.8
16	Midwestern University-Downers Grove Downers Grove, IL	Doctoral Degree	$230,075	—	—	84.8
17	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$116,969	$8,000	212	84.8
18	California State University-Dominguez Hills Carson, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$118,588	$10,000	181	84.7
19	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA	Doctoral Degree	$193,012	—	—	84.1
20	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$141,035	—	123	83.8
21	Pace University New York, NY	Doctoral Degree	$180,068	—	—	83.8
22	Western University of Health Sciences Pomona, CA	Doctoral Degree	$176,424	—	—	83.7
23	San Joaquin Delta College Stockton, CA	Associate's Degree	$140,130	—	122	83.6
24	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$169,879	—	—	83.6
25	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	Bachelor's Degree	$120,258	$12,500	120	83.4
26	National University San Diego, CA	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$157,271	—	58	83.3
27	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$143,356	$25,286	247	83.3
28	Montefiore School of Nursing Mount Vernon, NY	Associate's Degree	$133,065	$17,500	64	83.1
29	Unitek College Fremont, CA	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$157,427	—	—	83
30	University of Massachusetts Global Irvine, CA	Doctoral Degree	$156,172	—	—	82.9
31	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$119,115	$13,341	167	82.7
32	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	Master's Degree	$151,333	—	55	82.7
33	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	Master's Degree	$138,776	—	93	82.5
34	CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, NY	Associate's Degree	$115,112	$8,062	125	82.4
35	CUNY Medgar Evers College Brooklyn, NY	Associate's Degree	$122,671	$11,100	42	82.3
36	American River College Sacramento, CA	Associate's Degree	$122,386	$12,750	56	82.2
37	Sacramento City College Sacramento, CA	Associate's Degree	$123,978	$14,000	62	82.2
38	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	Master's Degree	$152,207	—	47	82.1
39	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$142,460	$20,500	49	82
40	Contra Costa College San Pablo, CA	Associate's Degree	$160,743	—	38	81.9
41	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Doctoral Degree	$135,401	—	108	81.9
42	Northeastern University Boston, MA	First Professional Degree	$191,083	—	29	81.8
43	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$116,361	$12,500	172	81.8
44	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$120,799	$17,375	212	81.7
45	California State University-Dominguez Hills Carson, CA	Master's Degree	$151,224	$23,500	50	81.6
46	University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS	Post-baccalaureate Certificate	$143,434	—	—	81.6
47	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	Doctoral Degree	$161,545	—	34	81.6
48	The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, TN	Doctoral Degree	$136,674	—	90	81.6
49	Concordia University-Wisconsin Mequon, WI	Doctoral Degree	$143,402	—	—	81.5
50	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$116,182	$12,500	158	81.4

🔍 Filter Registered Nursing by state & degree level →

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Hidden Gems for Registered Nursing

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Registered Nursing — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$150,921	97%	91.8
2	Evergreen Valley College San Jose, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$140,512	—	90
3	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$143,886	93%	89.4
4	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$134,489	97%	89.2
5	Samuel Merritt University Oakland, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus	$148,193	—	88.7
6	College of Marin Kentfield, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus	$147,805	—	87.2
7	College of San Mateo San Mateo, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$144,794	—	86.7
8	Unitek College Fremont, CA Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus	$150,789	—	85.4
9	Mercy University Dobbs Ferry, NY Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$118,232	86%	85
10	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$240,887	73%	84.9
11	Midwestern University-Downers Grove Downers Grove, IL Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$230,075	—	84.8
12	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY Strong Registered Nursing outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$116,969	68%	84.8

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Registered Nursing field (CIP 51.38) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Registered Nursing programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Registered Nursing program?+

By our outcome score, California State University-East Bay (California) ranks #1 for Registered Nursing, with median graduate earnings of $150,921.

How are these Registered Nursing programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Registered Nursing programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.