Best colleges for Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, California State University-East Bay leads: its Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing graduates earn a median $150,921 four years after finishing, against the field's $88,910 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-East Bay | $150,921 | +$62,011 |
| 2 | San Francisco State University | $150,102 | +$61,192 |
| 3 | Dominican University of California | $149,622 | +$60,712 |
| 4 | Sonoma State University | $143,886 | +$54,976 |
| 5 | University of San Francisco | $143,356 | +$54,446 |
| 6 | California State University-Monterey Bay | $134,489 | +$45,579 |
| 7 | California State University-Sacramento | $129,960 | +$41,050 |
| 8 | California State University-Stanislaus | $126,959 | +$38,049 |
| 9 | San Diego State University | $120,799 | +$31,889 |
| 10 | California State University-San Marcos | $120,196 | +$31,286 |
How big is the earnings gap between California Registered Nursing programs?
$30,725 separates the top and bottom of this list — $150,921 at California State University-East Bay against $120,196 at California State University-San Marcos, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California Registered Nursing graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $62,011 above the $88,910 national median for the field. Program-level medians come from federal tax records of graduates who received aid, so they track actual pay rather than advertised salaries.