Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Santa Ana College

Santa Ana College's nursing program launches graduates into strong initial earnings of nearly $100,000—well above both national and California medians—but there's an unusual pattern worth understanding. While first-year earnings rank in the 95th percentile nationally, they actually sit right at the California median, placing this program squarely in the middle of the pack among the state's 109 nursing programs. More concerning is the 13% earnings decline by year four, dropping graduates to $85,842. This backward trajectory is atypical for nursing, where experience usually drives pay increases.

The debt picture offers some relief: at $16,739, it's reasonable for any healthcare credential, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of just 0.17. Graduates could theoretically pay off loans in two months of their first-year salary. However, the small sample size here (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could shift significantly year to year—what looks like declining earnings might just reflect which specific graduates responded to the survey.

For California families, this is a solid middle-tier option that gets your child working quickly at respectable wages, but don't expect the stratospheric earnings that California's top nursing programs deliver. The real value proposition is the associate's degree pathway—two years of community college tuition versus four years at a university—combined with immediate employability in one of the nation's strongest nursing markets.