Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at West Virginia University at Parkersburg

This nursing program comes with an important caveat—the sample size is small, so these numbers could shift significantly with more data. That said, the debt-to-earnings picture here is notably strong, particularly for West Virginia. Graduates leave with about $18,200 in debt against first-year earnings of $73,300—a ratio of 0.25 that's well below the 1.0 threshold where debt becomes burdensome. In fact, this program's debt load ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally, meaning 95% of nursing programs saddle students with more debt.

Within West Virginia, this program lands in the 60th percentile for earnings, outperforming the state median of $71,300 and getting reasonably close to higher-ranked programs like Fairmont State ($78,000). Nationally, earnings trail the median slightly ($73,300 vs. $74,900), but that gap matters less when you're avoiding an extra $9,000 in debt compared to the typical nursing program. For a family watching costs, graduating with manageable debt and near-median nursing earnings is a solid foundation—nurses can build income through experience and specialization after graduation.

The small sample size means you should verify these outcomes persist over time, but the fundamental value proposition looks sound: relatively low debt for solid nursing credentials in a state where in-state tuition makes financial sense.