Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at University of Massachusetts-Lowell

UMass Lowell's nursing graduates start strong at $78,247—beating the national median but landing below the Massachusetts median of $79,780. That 40th percentile ranking among Bay State nursing programs tells you something important: this is a solid mid-tier option in one of the nation's most competitive nursing markets, where programs like Framingham State push median earnings above $95,000. The $27,000 debt load creates a manageable 0.35 ratio to first-year earnings, meaning graduates typically dedicate about 4-5 months of their first year's salary to loan payments.

The concerning pattern here is the earnings plateau—graduates actually see their pay dip slightly to $77,250 by year four rather than growing. In nursing, this often signals different career paths: some nurses move into lower-paying but more desirable specialty roles, while others face the reality that staff nurse pay doesn't climb dramatically without advancing into administration or specialized practice. With robust data from over 100 graduates, this flatline isn't a statistical fluke.

For a Massachusetts family, this comes down to cost differential. At in-state tuition rates, UMass Lowell delivers reliable nursing credentials with manageable debt. But if your child is weighing similar net costs against higher-ranked Massachusetts programs, those $10,000-15,000 earnings differences compound quickly. The nursing degree opens doors—just not necessarily the widest ones in the state.