Program Payoff

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing programs in Tennessee

27 schools in Tennessee teach this, at certificate or associate level. 19 of them report what graduates earn two years out; the highest is $65,238 at Concorde Career College-Memphis.

What this work pays in Tennessee

Registered Nurses in Tennessee earn a median of $81,500 a year across 72,200 jobs. That is what the occupation pays everyone in it — not what graduates of any one program below earned.

Also leads toMedianJobs in Tennessee
Medical and Health Services Managers$107,12014,160
Nurse Practitioners$117,59012,150
Nurse Anesthetists$211,4501,690
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary$80,0501,150
Nurse Midwives$116,980330

Occupation wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

Schools

SchoolCredentialMedian debtGraduate earnings, 2 yrsGraduates
Concorde Career College-Memphis Memphis Associate's degree $24,375 $65,238 (22 grads) 0
Galen Health Institutes-Nashville Campus Nashville Associate's degree $24,808 $58,358 (870 grads) 0
Herzing University-Nashville Nashville Associate's degree $19,259 $57,389 (247 grads)
Dyersburg State Community College Dyersburg Associate's degree $7,350 $56,949 (113 grads) 106
Nashville State Community College Nashville Associate's degree $13,444 $56,776 (36 grads) 48
Fortis Institute-Cookeville Cookeville Associate's degree $29,028 $56,302 (118 grads) 39
Fortis Institute-Nashville Nashville Associate's degree $26,833 $55,770 (123 grads) 52
Southwest Tennessee Community College Memphis Associate's degree $55,512 (25 grads) 88
Tennessee State University Nashville Associate's degree $55,286 (107 grads)
Jackson State Community College Jackson Associate's degree $54,453 (123 grads) 66
Columbia State Community College Columbia Associate's degree $11,500 $53,956 (114 grads) 87
Chattanooga State Community College Chattanooga Associate's degree $13,500 $52,242 (153 grads) 142
Motlow State Community College Tullahoma Associate's degree $52,107 (63 grads) 54
Northeast State Community College Blountville Associate's degree $51,145 (64 grads) 58
Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate Associate's degree $19,226 $51,077 (56 grads) 133
Pellissippi State Community College Knoxville Associate's degree $12,625 $48,617 (93 grads) 74
Cleveland State Community College Cleveland Associate's degree $48,522 (70 grads) 43
Roane State Community College Harriman Associate's degree $11,685 $47,846 (89 grads) 74
Walters State Community College Morristown Associate's degree $46,790 (102 grads) 98
South College Knoxville Associate's degree not published 0
Southern Adventist University Collegedale Associate's degree $19,500 not published 86
Carson-Newman University Jefferson City Associate's degree not published 0
King University Bristol Undergraduate certificate not published
Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga Chattanooga Undergraduate certificate not published
Southern Adventist University Collegedale Undergraduate certificate not published 0
The University of Tennessee Southern Pulaski Associate's degree not published
Volunteer State Community College Gallatin Associate's degree not published 38

A dash under earnings or debt means the U.S. Department of Education has not published a figure for that program — it withholds any median computed from too few graduates, which covers about four of every five programs. It never means zero, and it says nothing about whether the program is any good. Where a figure is shown, the number of graduates behind it is shown with it.

Email me when these figures change

The U.S. Department of Education publishes new cost, debt and earnings figures once a year, and every number on this page changes at once. One email when that happens for Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing — nothing else, and nothing in between.

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Program and outcome figures: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, released 2026-06-10.