Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Henderson State University

Henderson State's nursing program performs solidly within Arkansas, ranking in the 60th percentile among state programs despite sitting below the national median. The $72,326 first-year salary trails the national benchmark by about $2,500 but actually exceeds Arkansas's state median of $69,618. This makes sense given that nursing salaries vary significantly by geography, and Arkansas generally pays nurses less than coastal states.

The real advantage here is the debt picture. At $21,500, graduates carry substantially less debt than both the national median ($27,000) and Arkansas median ($25,000). Combined with that first-year salary, the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.30 means graduates owe roughly 3.5 months of their annual income—a manageable burden that should allow for comfortable loan repayment. Nearly half the student body receives Pell grants, suggesting Henderson successfully serves lower-income students who emerge with reasonable debt loads.

For an Arkansas family planning to stay in-state, this program offers a practical path to nursing with less financial strain than most alternatives. You're not getting top-tier Arkansas earnings—programs like UALR and Arkansas State edge ahead—but you're getting solid middle-of-the-pack performance with notably lighter debt. That's a reasonable tradeoff, especially if geographic convenience or institutional fit matters to your family.