Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Delaware Technical Community College-Terry

Delaware Technical Community College-Terry produces nursing graduates earning $86,455 their first year out—significantly above the national median of $74,888 and competitive with Delaware's other nursing programs. What makes this particularly impressive is the price: at just $16,125 in median debt (roughly 60% below the state average), students achieve a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.19—meaning graduates can theoretically pay off their loans in less than three months of earnings. While this program ranks 60th percentile within Delaware for earnings, that's actually excellent positioning given you're comparing a community college to four-year universities charging substantially more.

The economics here are straightforward. Your child will earn roughly the same as Delaware State University grads ($84,049) and only slightly less than Wilmington University grads ($86,703), but with about $10,000 less debt than either program typically carries. The fact that 38% of students receive Pell grants suggests this pathway works for families across income levels, not just those who can afford to pay outright.

For families looking at nursing programs, this represents one of the cleanest value propositions available: strong earnings with minimal debt burden. The moderate sample size means these numbers are reliable, and the consistently high placement in national rankings (87th percentile) confirms this isn't a statistical fluke. If your child is committed to nursing, starting here makes financial sense.