Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Angeles College

Angeles College graduates earn well above the national average for LVN/LPN programs—landing in the 83rd percentile nationally—but here's the catch: in California's competitive healthcare market, that same $52,241 first-year salary barely reaches the state median of $53,040, placing graduates at just the 40th percentile among California nursing programs. Your child would be paying premium tuition ($20,000 in debt versus the state median of $17,421) for middle-of-the-pack results in their actual job market.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.38 is manageable and better than most programs nationally, but California offers significantly stronger alternatives. Top programs like Unitek College and Hartnell College place graduates at $63,000-$66,000—that's $10,000-$14,000 more annually for similar or lower debt loads. Given that over half of Angeles College students receive Pell grants, these income differences matter considerably for financial mobility.

If Angeles College is significantly more accessible geographically or has faster program completion, the earnings are sufficient to service the debt comfortably. But if your child can access one of California's higher-performing LVN programs, they'd enter the workforce with meaningfully stronger earning potential in a state where cost of living demands every dollar of income.