Federal data
Highest earning associate's registered nursing programs in California
California registered nursing programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unitek College | Fremont | For-profit, 4-year | $120,006 | 122 |
| 2 | Yuba College | Marysville | Public, 2-year | $117,283 | 31 |
| 3 | Merced College | Merced | Public, 2-year | $107,024 | 73 |
| 4 | American Career College | Los Angeles | For-profit, 2-year | $105,516 | 68 |
| 5 | Carrington College | Sacramento | For-profit, 4-year | $104,423 | 70 |
| 6 | Butte College | Oroville | Public, 2-year | $104,268 | 105 |
| 7 | Santa Barbara City College | Santa Barbara | Public, 2-year | $101,955 | 55 |
| 8 | Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | Public, 2-year | $100,800 | 40 |
| 9 | Ventura College | Ventura | Public, 2-year | $99,778 | 38 |
| 10 | Shasta College | Redding | Public, 4-year | $99,544 | 64 |
| 11 | Modesto Junior College | Modesto | Public, 4-year | $99,339 | 62 |
| 12 | American River College | Sacramento | Public, 2-year | $98,951 | 38 |
| 13 | College of the Sequoias | Visalia | Public, 2-year | $98,926 | 82 |
| 14 | College of the Redwoods | Eureka | Public, 2-year | $98,703 | 30 |
| 15 | California Career College | Canoga Park | For-profit, 4-year | $98,486 | 59 |
| 16 | San Joaquin Valley College | Visalia | For-profit, 4-year | $97,011 | 127 |
| 17 | Glendale Career College | Glendale | For-profit, 4-year | $96,185 | 121 |
| 18 | North-West College-San Diego | San Diego | For-profit, 4-year | $96,185 | 121 |
| 19 | Rio Hondo College | Whittier | Public, 4-year | $95,666 | 34 |
| 20 | Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts | San Jose | For-profit, 4-year | $93,681 | 70 |
| 21 | Career Networks Institute | Santa Ana | For-profit, 4-year | $93,384 | 137 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.