Nursing Trade School ROI (2026 stats)
TL;DR
A typical practical nursing (LPN/LVN) certificate leaves graduates with $18,016 in federal loans and pays $52,782 in the first year after completion, rising to $60,975 by year five, in EDsmart Data's analysis of 1,262 College Scorecard programs. Debt equals 34.1% of first-year pay. BLS reports a $64,400 median wage for all licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
Key Facts
- Median debt, practical nursing (LPN/LVN) certificate: $18,016
- First-year earnings: $52,782
- Five-year earnings: $60,975
- Graduates working (year 1): 97.5%
- Projected job growth, 2025–35: +3.0%
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Nursing program earnings 1, 4, and 5 years after completion
Pay climbs quickly after training
Our analysis finds practical nursing (LPN/LVN) certificate graduates' median pay rises from $52,782 in year one to $60,975 by year five (+15.5%).
Medians across programs, weighted by graduates with reported earnings.
Nursing trade school ROI at a glance
| Program | Median debt | Year-1 earnings | Year-5 earnings | Debt as % of year-1 pay | Employed (year 1) | Year-5 pay vs HS median | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered nursing (certificate) | $25,116 | $72,018 | $80,206 | 34.9% | 100.0% | $40,053 | 184 |
| Registered nursing (associate) | $31,417 | $75,929 | $82,778 | 41.4% | 99.0% | $42,625 | 1,187 |
| Practical nursing, vocational nursing and nursing assistants (certificate) | $18,016 | $52,782 | $60,975 | 34.1% | 97.5% | $20,822 | 1,262 |
| Practical nursing, vocational nursing and nursing assistants (associate) | $25,469 | $57,680 | $60,679 | 44.2% | 96.0% | $20,526 | 166 |
Nursing program earnings and debt by state
States with at least 3 programs reporting first-year earnings.
| State | Year-1 earnings | Median debt | Programs reporting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $64,859 | $11,456 | 11 |
| California | $62,198 | $18,016 | 67 |
| New Jersey | $59,859 | $16,719 | 13 |
| Connecticut | $58,422 | $19,475 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | $56,752 | $19,475 | 35 |
| Virginia | $56,625 | $26,013 | 18 |
| Alabama | $55,596 | $22,098 | 3 |
| North Dakota | $53,464 | $23,446 | 5 |
| Wisconsin | $53,464 | $22,098 | 15 |
| Kansas | $53,299 | $15,000 | 10 |
| Maryland | $53,185 | $22,190 | 5 |
| New York | $52,090 | $15,588 | 31 |
| Illinois | $51,171 | $11,812 | 29 |
| Ohio | $51,046 | $20,537 | 50 |
| Louisiana | $50,755 | $23,807 | 19 |
| Texas | $50,657 | $19,300 | 42 |
| Florida | $50,657 | $19,300 | 47 |
| North Carolina | $50,377 | $14,250 | 11 |
| Missouri | $50,319 | $14,312 | 22 |
| Michigan | $49,739 | $21,800 | 20 |
| Colorado | $49,302 | $12,750 | 9 |
| Tennessee | $48,034 | $22,098 | 25 |
| Idaho | $48,016 | $20,000 | 3 |
| South Dakota | $47,904 | $16,125 | 3 |
| Minnesota | $47,858 | $19,159 | 18 |
| Oklahoma | $47,800 | $13,625 | 14 |
| West Virginia | $45,189 | $17,543 | 10 |
| Georgia | $44,861 | $11,653 | 18 |
| South Carolina | $44,277 | $18,250 | 7 |
| Arkansas | $43,368 | $13,800 | 13 |
| Kentucky | $40,464 | $11,288 | 22 |
| Mississippi | $39,753 | $11,005 | 13 |
| Iowa | $36,173 | $14,250 | 3 |
| Arizona | $35,112 | $12,925 | 12 |
| Utah | $33,769 | $11,500 | 4 |
Top 25 practical nursing (LPN/LVN) programs by first-year earnings
| School | State | Credential | Year-1 earnings | Median debt | Employed (year 1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawsheen Valley School of Practical Nursing | MA | Certificate | $79,295 | $7,878 | 100.0% |
| Harmony Health Care Institute | NH | Certificate | $78,455 | $12,685 | 100.0% |
| Monty Tech | MA | Certificate | $78,299 | $10,500 | 100.0% |
| Beal University | ME | Associate | $75,752 | $30,791 | 97.0% |
| Greater Lowell Technical School | MA | Certificate | $75,666 | $11,456 | 100.0% |
| Schoolcraft Community College District | MI | Certificate | $75,162 | $21,839 | 97.0% |
| Universal Training Institute | NJ | Certificate | $75,144 | $15,749 | 98.7% |
| Unitek College | CA | Associate | $72,818 | $26,008 | 96.6% |
| High Desert Medical College | CA | Associate | $72,536 | $29,320 | 100.0% |
| Greenfield Community College | MA | Certificate | $72,090 | $9,500 | 95.8% |
| Saint Michael College of Allied Health | DC | Certificate | $71,778 | $17,713 | 98.1% |
| Verve College | IL | Certificate | $71,363 | $17,152 | 100.0% |
| Standard Healthcare Services-College of Nursing | VA | Certificate | $71,151 | $14,750 | 99.5% |
| Eastwick College-Hackensack | NJ | Certificate | $70,848 | $24,697 | 100.0% |
| Carrington College-San Jose | CA | Associate | $70,686 | $35,286 | 96.0% |
| Carrington College-Sacramento | CA | Associate | $70,686 | $35,286 | 96.0% |
| Lassen Community College | CA | Associate | $70,490 | — | 100.0% |
| CUNY LaGuardia Community College | NY | Certificate | $70,065 | — | 93.8% |
| Muskegon Community College | MI | Certificate | $69,906 | $11,870 | 97.1% |
| Williston State College | ND | Certificate | $69,896 | $10,500 | 100.0% |
| Unitek College | CA | Certificate | $69,801 | $17,900 | 96.6% |
| Bismarck State College | ND | Certificate | $69,228 | $12,000 | 98.1% |
| Transitions Career Institute School of Nursing | NY | Certificate | $68,772 | $14,167 | 98.6% |
| NorthWest Arkansas Community College | AR | Certificate | $68,667 | — | 95.0% |
| North-West College-Van Nuys | CA | Certificate | $68,429 | $18,845 | 95.7% |
Job outlook for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Employment, 2025 | 666,900 |
| Projected employment, 2035 | 686,700 |
| Projected growth, 2025–35 | +3.0% |
| Median annual wage (all workers) | $64,400 |
What the data shows
By the numbers, practical nursing (LPN/LVN) training is one of the stronger short-credential bets: modest borrowing, fast entry into paid work, and earnings that keep rising as graduates move through apprenticeship and licensing.
Results still vary a lot by school. The top programs pay far more than the median, and some programs report no earnings at all because too few graduates received federal aid. Check the program-level table before enrolling.
Methodology
Program figures come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: one record per institution × 4-digit CIP code × credential level. Earnings are median annual earnings of federal-aid recipients who completed the program and were working and not enrolled, measured 1, 4, and 5 years after completion (in the dollar year of the Scorecard release). Debt is the median federal loan balance (Stafford and Grad PLUS) at completion; private loans and Parent PLUS are excluded. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and drop out of each column.
When we summarize many programs, we take the median across programs weighted by the number of graduates in each program's earnings (or debt) cohort, so large programs count more than tiny ones.
Graduate-only health fields (dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, and similar) are excluded, as are health certificates at bachelor's- or graduate-predominant universities, which are usually post-degree credentials (such as nurse anesthesia) rather than entry-level training.
The employment rate is the share of the year-1 earnings cohort working and not enrolled (a federal proxy, not a placement rate). Year-5 pay versus the high school median compares program earnings with the Census ACS 2024 median for high school graduates 25+ ($40,153). Job outlook comes from BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, SOC 29-2061.
Frequently asked questions
Is practical nursing (LPN/LVN) trade school worth it?
For most graduates, yes: practical nursing (LPN/LVN) certificate programs carry median federal debt of $18,016 against first-year earnings of $52,782, so debt equals 34.1% of a year's pay, based on College Scorecard data.
How much do practical nursing (LPN/LVN) program graduates earn?
Median earnings are $52,782 one year after completing a certificate and $60,975 after five years.
How long does it take to pay off practical nursing (LPN/LVN) school debt?
At the median, about 0.9 yrs of the earnings premium over a typical high school graduate ($40,153, Census ACS) would cover the debt.
Which state pays practical nursing (LPN/LVN) graduates the most?
Massachusetts has the highest median first-year earnings for practical nursing (LPN/LVN) programs at $64,859.
Data sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard institution and field-of-study files (latest release in our extract)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35 (occupational employment, openings, wages, and typical entry-level education)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year, table B20004 (median earnings by educational attainment, age 25+)