Registered Nursing Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Registered Nursing maps to BLS occupations averaging about $144,615, with roughly 430,460 workers nationwide in those roles. About 147,392 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; modeled 10-year ROI is about 501% on median net price.
Key Statistics
Registered Nursing: what the data shows
Common questions about registered nursing degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a registered nursing degree?
A Registered Nursing program is classified under NCES CIP 51.3801 in the Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing field family (51.38).
A program that generally prepares individuals in the knowledge, techniques and procedures for promoting health, providing care for sick, disabled, infirmed, or other individuals or groups. Includes instruction in the administration of medication and treatments, assisting a physician during treatments and examinations, Referring patients to physicians and other health care specialists, and planning education for health maintenance.
IPEDS counted 147,392 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of registered nursing degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.38 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Adult Health Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3803)
- Clinical Nurse Leader (CIP 51.3820)
- Clinical Nurse Specialist (CIP 51.3813)
- Critical Care Nursing (CIP 51.3814)
- Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing (CIP 51.3816)
- Family Practice Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3805)
- Forensic Nursing (CIP 51.3824)
- Geriatric Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3821)
- Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3806)
- Nurse Anesthetist (CIP 51.3804)
- Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery (CIP 51.3807)
- Nursing Administration (CIP 51.3802)
- Nursing Education (CIP 51.3817)
- Nursing Practice (CIP 51.3818)
- Nursing Science (CIP 51.3808)
- Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing (CIP 51.3815)
- Palliative Care Nursing (CIP 51.3819)
- Pediatric Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3809)
- Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3812)
- Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3810)
- Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3811)
- Women's Health Nurse/Nursing (CIP 51.3822)
How long does it take to get a registered nursing degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.3801 in our file:
- 83,968 Associate (33.3% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 147,392 Bachelor's (58.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 20,091 Master's (8.0% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 557 Doctorate (0.2% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in registered nursing?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, Active Listening, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Registered Nurses (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 51.3801, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a registered nursing degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Registered Nursing to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 3,282,010 | $93,600 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 307,390 | $129,210 |
| Licensed Practical Nurses | 632,430 | $62,340 |
| Nurse Midwives | 8,280 | $128,790 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 50,350 | $223,210 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a registered nursing degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing bachelor's program family: median debt $21,490, median earnings $88,910 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.29.
About 1.2% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $11,790 and median net price is $16,866.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Registered Nursing and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$11,790 Median In-State Public
$43,360 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Registered Nursing majors are, on average, $11,790 for in-state public colleges, and $43,360 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Registered Nursing programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
147,392 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Registered Nursing from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Registered Nursing.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 3 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,095 |
| 4 | Liberty University | VA | 50,059 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | 49,000 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Registered Nursing programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 4 | College of the Redwoods | CA | $1,147 |
| 5 | Laney College | CA | $1,148 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Registered Nursing programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $10 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 3 | Henry Ford College | MI | $576 |
| 4 | Oxnard College | CA | $659 |
| 5 | Cerritos College | CA | $693 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Registered Nursing programs.
Graduation Rates
51.94% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
51.72% Average Graduation Rate
1,267 Institutions Reporting
38.34% - 64.34% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Registered Nursing programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Registered Nursing is in TX (11,950 completions). That state represents about 8.1% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is MN (12.53% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| TX | 11,950 | 8.1% | 4.08% |
| IL | 11,043 | 7.5% | 7.97% |
| MN | 10,694 | 7.3% | 12.53% |
| CA | 9,724 | 6.6% | 2.16% |
| UT | 8,496 | 5.8% | 7.87% |
| FL | 8,393 | 5.7% | 3.66% |
| AZ | 6,604 | 4.5% | 4.76% |
| NY | 6,575 | 4.5% | 2.39% |
| OH | 5,524 | 3.8% | 3.99% |
| PA | 4,523 | 3.1% | 2.65% |
| GA | 3,480 | 2.4% | 3.04% |
| NC | 3,410 | 2.3% | 2.76% |
| MI | 3,365 | 2.3% | 2.94% |
| TN | 2,948 | 2.0% | 3.98% |
| KY | 2,882 | 2.0% | 5.58% |
| VA | 2,867 | 1.9% | 2.33% |
| IN | 2,799 | 1.9% | 2.71% |
| NJ | 2,631 | 1.8% | 3.05% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.38 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Adult Health Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3803
- Clinical Nurse Leader CIP 51.3820
- Clinical Nurse Specialist CIP 51.3813
- Critical Care Nursing CIP 51.3814
- Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing CIP 51.3816
- Family Practice Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3805
- Forensic Nursing CIP 51.3824
- Geriatric Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3821
- Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3806
- Nurse Anesthetist CIP 51.3804
- Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery CIP 51.3807
- Nursing Administration CIP 51.3802
- Nursing Education CIP 51.3817
- Nursing Practice CIP 51.3818
- Nursing Science CIP 51.3808
- Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing CIP 51.3815
- Palliative Care Nursing CIP 51.3819
- Pediatric Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3809
- Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3812
- Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3810
- Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3811
- Women's Health Nurse/Nursing CIP 51.3822
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.3801 in the survey year used in our extract (252,008 total across levels below).
- 83,968 Associate (33.3% of IPEDS total)
- 147,392 Bachelor's (58.5% of IPEDS total)
- 20,091 Master's (8.0% of IPEDS total)
- 557 Doctorate (0.2% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $144,615. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Registered Nursing graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | $152,361 | 3,282,010 |
| Nurse Practitioners | $177,897 | 307,390 |
| Licensed Practical Nurses | $81,239 | 632,430 |
| Nurse Midwives | $184,512 | 8,280 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $225,979 | 50,350 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing CIP family (602 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Registered Nursing graduate.
- $21,490 median federal loan debt among completers
- $88,910 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.29 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 1.2% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$140,906 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Registered Nursing majors is $140,906.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Registered Nursing majors.
Occupations by Share
430,460 2023 Workforce
The number of Registered Nursing graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Registered Nursing by share of the total number of graduates.
Return on Investment & Value
Debt and earnings fields below come from College Scorecard where present in our degree extract.
Financial value (extract)
$13,532 Median Student Debt
$40,568 Median Annual Earnings (10 years after enrollment)
33.36% Debt-to-Earnings Ratio
3.3 years Estimated Payback Period (assuming 10% of income)
501.30% Return on Investment (10-year earnings vs 4-year cost)
Ten-year earnings in this extract exceed four years of median net price.
$67,466 Estimated Total Cost (4 years at median net price)
Financial value comparison for Registered Nursing degree.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Registered Nursing in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Registered Nursing.
Age distribution for Registered Nursing degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
147,392 Total Degrees Awarded
19,843 Male (13.46%)
127,549 Female (86.54%)
Gender distribution of Registered Nursing degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
77,409 White (52.52%)
25,391 Hispanic or Latino (17.23%)
19,377 Black or African American (13.15%)
12,453 Asian (8.45%)
4,823 Two or More Races (3.27%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Registered Nursing degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Registered Nursing are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Registered Nursing.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Registered Nursing field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Registered Nursing majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Registered Nursing majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Registered Nursing majors.
About
A program that generally prepares individuals in the knowledge, techniques and procedures for promoting health, providing care for sick, disabled, infirmed, or other individuals or groups. Includes instruction in the administration of medication and treatments, assisting a physician during treatments and examinations, Referring patients to physicians and other health care specialists, and planning education for health maintenance.
In 2023, 147,392 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Registered Nursing.
CIP Code
51.3801 - Registered Nursing
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $21,490 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $88,910, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.29. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Registered Nursing graduate.
Women earned 86.5% of 256,965 Registered Nursing completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $144,615. The largest mapped role by headcount is Registered Nurses (3,282,010 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $11,790 in-state at public colleges and $43,360 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.