Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at Northwest State Community College

Northwest State's practical nursing program starts strong with first-year earnings of $47,124—about $4,000 above Ohio's median and ranking in the 60th percentile statewide. However, the small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these figures could shift significantly with more data, and there's an unusual pattern worth understanding: earnings actually decline to $41,784 by year four, an 11% drop that's uncommon in nursing careers.

The debt load is manageable at $14,334, slightly below both state and national medians, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.30 that most graduates should be able to handle. For context, top Ohio programs like Cincinnati State see earnings reach $53,908, suggesting this program performs solidly but not exceptionally within the state's nursing landscape.

The earnings decline is the puzzle here. It could reflect graduates moving to part-time work, leaving the field, or simply statistical noise from the small cohort. If your child is certain about a long-term nursing career, programs with more stable mid-career earnings might offer better security. But if affordability and quick workforce entry matter most, this program delivers decent immediate returns with debt that won't become crushing—just understand you're working with limited data that may not tell the full story.