Best Registered Nurse programs in Connecticut, ranked by enrollment
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients.
15 schools in Connecticut run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,878 people a year. The job pays a median of $102,740 in Connecticut across about 40,110 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Connecticut that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
9 programs in Connecticut that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Connecticut (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Connecticut page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nursemain feeder CIP 51.3801In Connecticut → | 2,506 | 64.6% | 14 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 2 | Nursing Administrationmain feeder CIP 51.3802In Connecticut → | 721 | 18.6% | 5 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 3 | Nursing Practicemain feeder CIP 51.3818In Connecticut → | 303 | 7.8% | 7 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 4 | Family Practice Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3805In Connecticut → | 214 | 5.5% | 5 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 5 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3810In Connecticut → | 49 | 1.3% | 4 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 6 | Adult Health Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3803In Connecticut → | 40 | 1.0% | 2 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 7 | Nursing Sciencemain feeder CIP 51.3808In Connecticut → | 30 | 0.8% | 4 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 8 | Palliative Care Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3819In Connecticut → | 9 | 0.2% | 1 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 9 | CIP 51.3899In Connecticut → | 6 | 0.2% | 1 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
Top 15 schools in Connecticut
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 15 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Post University Waterbury, CT Private for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 753 | Nursing Administration | — | 25% | $14,659 | — |
| 2 | Connecticut State Community College New Britain, CT Public · 1 feeder programs | 505 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $76,364 | 24% | — | — |
| 3 | Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 434 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $90,830 | 73% | $42,705 | 65% |
| 4 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT Public · 5 feeder programs | 383 | Nursing Practice | $84,969 | 83% | — | 52% |
| 5 | Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 342 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $84,856 | 76% | $36,137 | 72% |
| 6 | Goodwin University East Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 276 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $79,227 | 58% | $30,133 | — |
| 7 | Fairfield University Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 274 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $91,418 | 84% | $36,845 | 33% |
| 8 | Yale University New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 212 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | — | 96% | $27,025 | 4% |
| 9 | Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT Public · 2 feeder programs | 177 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $87,795 | 50% | — | 91% |
| 10 | University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 125 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $89,752 | 41% | $25,149 | 83% |
| 11 | University of Saint Joseph West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 124 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $86,555 | 64% | $25,841 | 79% |
| 12 | Western Connecticut State University Danbury, CT Public · 3 feeder programs | 99 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $86,600 | 52% | — | 87% |
| 13 | University of Hartford West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 81 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $106,348 | 54% | $28,311 | 96% |
| 14 | Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT Public · 2 feeder programs | 67 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $83,012 | 48% | — | 73% |
| 15 | Charter Oak State College New Britain, CT Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | — | 67% | — | — |
All 15 schools in Connecticut
Every school in Connecticut with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post University | Waterbury | Private for-profit | 753 | 5 |
| Connecticut State Community College | New Britain | Public | 505 | 1 |
| Sacred Heart University | Fairfield | Private not-for-profit | 434 | 5 |
| University of Connecticut | Storrs | Public | 383 | 5 |
| Quinnipiac University | Hamden | Private not-for-profit | 342 | 5 |
| Goodwin University | East Hartford | Private not-for-profit | 276 | 2 |
| Fairfield University | Fairfield | Private not-for-profit | 274 | 4 |
| Yale University | New Haven | Private not-for-profit | 212 | 1 |
| Southern Connecticut State University | New Haven | Public | 177 | 2 |
| University of Bridgeport | Bridgeport | Private not-for-profit | 125 | 2 |
| University of Saint Joseph | West Hartford | Private not-for-profit | 124 | 3 |
| Western Connecticut State University | Danbury | Public | 99 | 3 |
| University of Hartford | West Hartford | Private not-for-profit | 81 | 2 |
| Central Connecticut State University | New Britain | Public | 67 | 2 |
| Charter Oak State College | New Britain | Public | 26 | 1 |
What registered nurses earn in Connecticut
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $97,550. Connecticut pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Connecticut
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Registered Nurses page.
How to become a Registered Nurse
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Connecticut
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 21 majors mapped to Registered Nurses21 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.3801Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse
- 51.3802Nursing Administration
- 51.3803Adult Health Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3805Family Practice Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3806Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3808Nursing Science
- 51.3809Pediatric Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3810Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3811Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3812Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3813Clinical Nurse Specialist
- 51.3814Critical Care Nursing
- 51.3815Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing
- 51.3816Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing
- 51.3818Nursing Practice
- 51.3819Palliative Care Nursing
- 51.3820Clinical Nurse Leader
- 51.3821Geriatric Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3822Women's Health Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3824Forensic Nursing
- 51.3899Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing registered nurses programs in Connecticut.
What degree do you need to become a Registered Nurse?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse, which awarded 2,506 degrees in Connecticut in 2024-25, 64.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Registered Nurse?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Registered Nursing. Together they graduate about 3,878 people a year in Connecticut.
How much do registered nurses earn in Connecticut?+
The median is $102,740 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.3% above the U.S. median of $97,550. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for registered nurses growing?+
BLS projects a +4.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 189,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Connecticut?+
15 institutions in Connecticut reported graduates from at least one of the 9 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do registered nurses work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Staff Nurse, Charge Nurse, APN (Advanced Practice Nurse), CNS (Clinical Nurse Specialist), Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1141.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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