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When it comes to choosing a major, nursing is a top choice for many due to the high demand, job security, and strong earnings. Nursing is a vital profession in healthcare, with skilled professionals needed in medical facilities in every city and state. The career path also opens up a wide variety of specializations, including pediatrics, gerontology, psychiatric care, and family nursing. 

Nursing can also be a lucrative career – data from the (BLS) shows registered nurses earn a median salary of nearly double the national median for all workers.

Our report explores the median salary for nursing graduates one year and four years after graduation to highlight the potential salary growth for nursing majors. We also highlight the top 10 colleges with the highest earnings for both nursing bachelor's and master's degrees one and four years after graduation.

National Salary Trends for Nursing Graduates

Healthcare is a popular career choice for many because of the short time it takes to enter the field. In most states, an associate degree in nursing is enough to become a registered nurse. Graduates of ADN programs tend to see a higher return than many other alumni of two-year programs, earning a median of just over $61,000 in the first year out of college. By four years, that median salary climbs to $65,928, which is more than some bachelor’s graduates make right out of college.

Graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) do get a salary boost for their additional education. BSN alumni earn a median of $67,354 in their first year and see similar salary growth compared to nurses with an associate degree (ADN). Four years out of college, BSN graduates earn a median of nearly $73,000 per year.

Earning a master’s degree offers a significant increase in pay for nurses. In their first year out of college, Master of Science in Nursing alumni earn a median of $103,567 per year. MSN graduates also see the highest earnings growth, earning a median of over $114,000 by year four.

Earnings Range for Nursing Degrees

Salaries vary widely for nursing graduates depending on their level of education, demand for skilled employees, state regulations, and college reputation. The location where nursing students find employment after graduation significantly impacts their salary. BLS data shows California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska are the states where nurses earn the . Nurses in metropolitan areas also tend to earn more, and the top 10 highest-paying metropolitan areas for nurses are all in California.

For associate degree holders, the lowest median salary one year after graduation is just over $29,000, seen among New Age Training graduates in New York City, while Pacific Union College in California boasts the highest at nearly $107,000. After four years, alumni from Fortis Institute in Pennsylvania earn the lowest with $44,505, whereas Contra Costa College in California leads with $133,295.

Nursing bachelor's and master's degree holders see similar disparities. College of the Ozarks BSN graduates in Missouri have the lowest median salary of $46,324 in their first year, compared to Mercy College in New York at $110,487. Four years post-graduation, Brigham Young University alumni earn just over $47,000, while California State University-East Bay graduates top the chart at $139,795.

Master's graduates from Albany Medical College in New York earn a staggering $219,000 in their first year, while Mount Saint Joseph University alumni earn the lowest at $61,406. After four years, Central Connecticut State University master's graduates lead with about $199,000, with Mount Saint Joseph University graduates still trailing at just under $67,000.

Best Schools for High Salaries with a BSN

Schools With the Highest First-Year BSN Salaries

Many of the top schools for recent bachelor’s graduate salaries are in California, the state where nurses earn the highest salaries, according to . Many of them are also minority-serving institutions, serving higher rates of Asian American, Native American Pacific Islander, and Hispanic students. The list also includes a few Christian colleges.

The best schools for first-year BSN salaries include a handful of California State University campuses: Sacramento, Monterey Bay, Stanislaus, and Dominguez Hills are all public universities where nursing majors earn median salaries between $100,000 and $110,000 after their first year. Each of these campuses are designated Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) or Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) by the U.S. Department of Education. The only other California college to make the list is Career Networks Institute, a for-profit nursing school in Orange County.

A few colleges in New York also produce top earners, including private nonprofits Mercy College and Helene Fuld College, and for-profit ​​Monroe College. Two private Christian colleges, Bushnell University in Oregon and Concordia College in Minnesota, also produce high-earning graduates.

More than half of these colleges offer online BSNs or RN to BSN programs, increasing access to nursing training for professionals in California, New York, and across the country. Alumni at all of these schools earn a median salary of at least $100,000 in their first year.

Schools With the Highest Four-Year BSN Salaries

Median salaries at the top schools for nursing salaries range from $111,000 to $140,000 for alumni with a few years in the field. These schools are exclusively in California and New York and are largely made up of public universities. Every school is an HSI and half are designated AANAPISIs, providing economic mobility for Latino, Asian American, and Pacific Islander students.

Again, California State University campuses are heavily represented, including East Bay, Sacramento, Monterey Bay, and Dominguez Hills. The top private universities for salary in California are the Dominican University of California and two Christian colleges: Fresno Pacific University and Pacific Union College.

Three New York colleges also provide high economic gains for alumni four years out of college. Graduates of public schools CUNY Lehman College and Farmingdale State College and private school Mercy College earn a median of more than $110,000 per year.

Five of these colleges have online BSNs or RN to BSN programs available, which increases access to nurse training for people who want to enter the field but are either working full-time or don’t have a good nursing program in their area.

Best Schools for High Salaries with an MSN

Highest First-Year MSN Salaries

For recent master’s graduates, the best schools for alumni earnings have median salaries of at least $175,000 in the first year after graduation. For nurses with an MSN, salary depends more on factors such as the program specialty and demand for professionals in that area of expertise. The top schools for MSN salary one year out of college include a mix of public and private universities across the country and online.

The list of universities where alumni earn the highest median salaries in their first year out of college include four universities offering online MSN programs. Graduates of AdventHealth University and Central Connecticut State University’s online MSN programs are some of the top earners for early-career MSN graduates, with median salaries between $196,000 and $200,000. Specializations include Hospice and Palliative Care, Nursing Leadership, and Nurse Education. 

Midwestern University also offers online MSN programs in nurse leadership and adult gerontology, and Gannon University offers an online Family Nurse Practitioner degree. Graduates of these programs earn median salaries between $175,000 and $186,000 in their first year out of college.

Schools with high alumni earnings for their in-person MSN programs include a mix of private and public universities across the country. Albany Medical College in New York is the top school for master’s salaries, with median earnings of nearly $219,000 in the first year after graduation. Other top schools include Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia, Newman University, Mount Marty University, California State University-Fullerton, and Florida Gulf Coast University.

Highest Four-Year MSN Salaries

Many of the colleges with strong salary outcomes for recent graduates also offer some of the top earnings for alumni at the four-year mark. Alumni at these schools earned median salaries between $156,000 and $200,000 four years after their program.

Half of these schools offer online MSN programs, including Central Connecticut State University, AdventHealth University, Gannon University, Medical University of South Carolina, and Holy Names University. 

Online colleges might have particularly strong student outcomes because of the access they offer to specialty MSN programs, such as degrees in psychiatric, nurse education, nurse administration and leadership, informatics, adult gerontology, and pediatric nursing. Online degrees often provide high-demand specializations that nurses can use to advance their career when specialty programs aren't available in their area.

Because the salaries for one and four years post-graduation were collected at the same time, median earnings for some schools, such as Albany Medical College, are actually higher at the one-year mark than four years after college. This reflects how things like a shifting economy and changes in the labor market can impact the earnings potential for some graduates.

Looking Ahead: Job Growth for Nursing Majors

Nurses and healthcare workers in general are experiencing a ; the need for registered nurses is expected to as the national average job growth by 2032, according to BLS data. Specifically, the BLS predicts nearly 200,000 job openings per year over that time period for registered nurses.

Increased access to nursing degrees through online programs will also open the door for those who are working, caring for family, or unable to move for school in order to advance their careers, especially in states such as Texas, California, and New York, where .

Methodology

We found the colleges with the highest-earning nursing alumni by comparing schools using available IPEDS earning data for students working and not enrolled in any college program, both one year and four years after graduation. We examined both timelines to get a better idea of alumni earnings at different points in their careers. Additionally, we only focused on schools that had at least 15 students graduating with degrees in nursing-related fields, including Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research, Clinical Nursing, Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing, and Nursing Assistants. 

We gathered earnings information from the U.S. Treasury Data for graduates in 2019 and 2020, adjusting salaries for inflation to reflect 2021 dollars.