Associate's · The Dalles, Oregon

Is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Columbia Gorge Community College worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $92,544; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $107,874; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $19,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $39k (likely $39k – $51k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $68k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in OR; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1 years (likely 0.7–1.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $547k (likely $403k – $728k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.37M (likely $1.03M – $1.78M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 33%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26