Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Clark State College

Clark State's practical nursing program sits squarely in the middle tier for Ohio—right at the 40th percentile statewide—yet graduates with notably lower debt than most. At $18,740, student debt comes in below both the state median ($16,364) and national median ($14,803), while first-year earnings of $41,996 remain close enough to benchmarks that the overall financial picture is manageable.

The real story here is what you're not getting versus top-performing Ohio programs. Cincinnati State and several Fortis campuses place graduates earning $49,000-$54,000 annually—roughly $8,000-$12,000 more than Clark State. Over a career, that gap compounds significantly. The 4% earnings growth to year four also suggests limited upward mobility compared to programs where LPNs transition into higher-paying settings or advance their credentials.

For a family prioritizing affordability and local access, this program works: the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.45 means graduates can reasonably manage repayment on an LPN salary. But if your child can commute to Cincinnati or Columbus, those programs deliver substantially better returns for similar training. Clark State isn't a poor choice, but it's worth comparing travel costs against the earning premium elsewhere in Ohio.