MAJORS · 104 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a registered nursing degree worth it?
Part of Health and Nursing — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$1,004,299. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$1,004,299
across 820 bachelor’s programs · 274,445 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$915K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$761K ⟷ +$1.16M
NEVER BREAK EVEN
0%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
26
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$554K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$118K
Questions
- Is a registered nursing degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 820 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Registered Nursing is +$1,004,299 and the median is +$915,056. 0% of graduates in this field never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between +$760,797 and +$1,162,463.
- How long until a registered nursing degree pays off?
- Among Registered Nursing programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 26 (FREOPP 2021). 0% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a registered nursing major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Registered Nursing graduates span +$760,797 to +$1,162,463 — a +$402K spread within one major. The same field can be a strong trade at one school and a losing one at another, which is why the per-school number matters more than the field average.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 115 subfields with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Registered Nursing: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/registered-nursing