Nursing Schools in Ohio (2026)

145 accredited nursing programs found

145

Nursing Schools

76 / 69

Public / Private

$8,023

Avg Public Tuition

58.9%

Avg Grad Rate

Ohio has 145 nursing-relevant schools in this directory, with a fairly balanced split of 76 public and 69 private institutions. Average in-state tuition is $21,382, sitting between the public-heavy southern states and the private-dominated Northeast: public schools average $8,023 while private schools average $29,266. The 25th-to-75th-percentile tuition band runs from $9,577 to $34,595, indicating wide price discrimination depending on whether a prospective student targets public, private-religious, or private-secular options. The cheapest tracked program is Sinclair Community College at $3,435 per year, and the largest by undergraduate enrollment is Ohio State University-Main Campus at about 44,617.

Across Ohio programs the average graduation rate is 58.9 percent and the average retention rate is 74.4 percent — both above the national medians for this directory. Median post-graduation earnings average $43,749 and median federal debt at graduation averages $16,880. The state's mature healthcare-employer landscape, anchored by the Cleveland Clinic, OhioHealth, and several Cincinnati hospital networks, produces consistent demand for new RN cohorts.

Registered Nurse Market in Ohio

BLS wage and employment data for registered nurses

+5% projected growth

10th Percentile

$55,270

Median

$74,030

90th Percentile

$100,210

Employment

121,430

Openings

193,100

Registered Nurse Salary in Ohio

Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024

Median Salary

$74,030

Mean Salary

$76,420

Entry Level (10th %)

$55,270

Experienced (90th %)

$100,210

RNs Employed: 121,430

vs National Median: -21% (below $93,600)

Job Growth (2023-2033): +5%

Average Tuition

$21,382

Matches the Ohio average of $21,382.

Graduation Rate

58.9%

0.0%

Matches the Ohio average of 58.9%.

Median Earnings

$43,749

Matches the Ohio median of $43,749.

Tuition Overview

Avg Public Tuition	$8,023
Lowest Tuition	$3,435
Highest Tuition	$64,671
Avg Private Tuition	$29,266

Student Outcomes

Avg Graduation Rate	58.9%
Avg Earnings After Grad	$46,376
Avg Student Debt	$16,880
Total Enrollment	375,126

Most Affordable Nursing Schools in Ohio

#1 Lowest

Sinclair Community College

$3,435

#2 Lowest

Cuyahoga Community College District

$3,736

#3 Lowest

Lakeland Community College

$3,872

#4 Lowest

Washington State Community College

$4,128

#5 Lowest

Lorain County Community College

$4,135

Highest Graduation Rates in Ohio

#1 Grad Rate

Knox County Career Center

100.0%

#2 Grad Rate

Pickaway Ross Joint Vocational School District

97.1%

#3 Grad Rate

Tri-County Adult Career Center

95.8%

#4 Grad Rate

Adult and Community Education-Hudson

95.3%

#5 Grad Rate

Brown & Clermont Adult Career Campuses

92.7%

All Nursing Schools in Ohio

Institution	City	Type	Tuition (In-State)	Grad Rate	Earnings After	Enrollment
Ohio State University-Main Campus	Columbus	Public	$12,859	87.7%	$60,409	44,617
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	Cincinnati	Public	$13,570	71.5%	$54,810	29,094
Kent State University at Kent	Kent	Public	$12,846	65.5%	$45,388	19,134
Ohio University-Main Campus	Athens	Public	$13,746	66.4%	$52,581	18,456
Columbus State Community College	Columbus	Public	$5,338	25.1%	$39,435	17,128
Miami University-Oxford	Oxford	Public	$17,809	81.8%	$55,076	16,361
Eastern Gateway Community College	Steubenville	Public	$4,205	29.7%	$34,127	13,293
Cuyahoga Community College District	Cleveland	Public	$3,736	28.6%	$35,654	12,641
Sinclair Community College	Dayton	Public	$3,435	31.9%	$37,558	12,585
Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	Bowling Green	Public	$14,081	62.8%	$47,896	12,255
University of Toledo	Toledo	Public	$12,377	55.6%	$50,632	10,244
University of Akron Main Campus	Akron	Public	$12,799	48.2%	$46,600	10,011
Cleveland State University	Cleveland	Public	$12,613	48.9%	$52,131	9,077
University of Dayton	Dayton	Private	$47,600	81.5%	$75,537	8,099
Youngstown State University	Youngstown	Public	$10,791	52.9%	$41,544	7,340
Wright State University-Main Campus	Dayton	Public	$11,188	45.9%	$49,500	6,330
Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland	Private	$64,671	87.0%	$87,989	6,108
Stark State College	North Canton	Public	$4,670	22.7%	$34,661	5,803
Lorain County Community College	Elyria	Public	$4,135	32.7%	$38,837	5,394
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College	Cincinnati	Public	$5,400	20.4%	$40,137	5,283
Franklin University	Columbus	Private	$9,577	30.3%	$51,892	5,111
Xavier University	Cincinnati	Private	$48,125	70.5%	$64,873	4,723
Owens Community College	Perrysburg	Public	$5,750	31.6%	$37,275	4,184
Cedarville University	Cedarville	Private	$36,078	74.3%	$55,443	3,815
Lakeland Community College	Kirtland	Public	$3,872	23.1%	$39,612	3,143
Clark State College	Springfield	Public	$4,200	24.6%	$39,584	3,134
Hondros College of Nursing	Westerville	For-Profit	$19,902	19.4%	$58,636	3,091
Baldwin Wallace University	Berea	Private	$37,938	68.6%	$54,122	2,775
Franciscan University of Steubenville	Steubenville	Private	$32,630	77.1%	$50,030	2,775
University of Northwestern Ohio	Lima	Private	$12,930	54.1%	$50,968	2,572
Denison University	Granville	Private	$64,000	80.1%	$67,753	2,398
Ohio Northern University	Ada	Private	$37,800	74.2%	$80,928	2,386
Shawnee State University	Portsmouth	Public	$9,622	43.0%	$39,596	2,300
Ashland University	Ashland	Private	$28,910	60.6%	$52,928	2,250
The University of Findlay	Findlay	Private	$39,646	62.6%	$56,996	2,240
John Carroll University	University Heights	Private	$49,100	76.5%	$62,860	2,228
Otterbein University	Westerville	Private	$34,899	69.0%	$53,313	2,055
Tiffin University	Tiffin	Private	$32,400	43.0%	$35,942	1,938
The College of Wooster	Wooster	Private	$59,550	73.6%	$59,629	1,876
University of Mount Union	Alliance	Private	$35,400	64.9%	$53,217	1,785
Capital University	Columbus	Private	$41,788	65.5%	$54,143	1,709
Hocking College	Nelsonville	Public	$5,300	29.0%	$37,791	1,648
Central Ohio Technical College	Newark	Public	$5,136	24.2%	$39,168	1,549
James A. Rhodes State College	Lima	Public	$4,657	32.9%	$41,855	1,545
Edison State Community College	Piqua	Public	$4,379	31.5%	$41,360	1,502
Ohio Wesleyan University	Delaware	Private	$52,357	61.7%	$55,624	1,450
Muskingum University	New Concord	Private	$31,440	52.7%	$48,440	1,407
Marion Technical College	Marion	Public	$6,475	22.3%	$41,495	1,351
Mount Vernon Nazarene University	Mount Vernon	Private	$35,524	63.6%	$49,555	1,346
Walsh University	North Canton	Private	$34,595	61.7%	$59,764	1,294
Wittenberg University	Springfield	Private	$44,602	53.8%	$54,947	1,269
North Central State College	Mansfield	Public	$4,624	34.2%	$38,158	1,187
Terra State Community College	Fremont	Public	$5,660	36.1%	$36,612	1,120
Mount St. Joseph University	Cincinnati	Private	$36,650	54.7%	$51,509	1,100
Notre Dame College	Cleveland	Private	$32,606	36.6%	$49,737	1,049
Northwest State Community College	Archbold	Public	$4,578	46.7%	$40,004	1,037
Marietta College	Marietta	Private	$38,974	58.1%	$57,180	1,035
Washington State Community College	Marietta	Public	$4,128	32.1%	$37,988	1,002
Mercy College of Ohio	Toledo	Private	$18,950	44.6%	$65,409	982
Heidelberg University	Tiffin	Private	$33,628	49.8%	$48,466	884
Ohio Christian University	Circleville	Private	$23,700	35.7%	$39,813	816
University of Rio Grande	Rio Grande	Private	$20,560	32.2%	$41,478	795
Ohio Dominican University	Columbus	Private	$34,370	47.9%	$51,748	785
Malone University	Canton	Private	$36,120	51.3%	$48,909	777
The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences	Cincinnati	Private	$16,394	60.0%	$68,303	762
Southern State Community College	Hillsboro	Public	$5,687	26.2%	$35,463	751
Hiram College	Hiram	Private	$26,265	59.1%	$54,311	731
Zane State College	Zanesville	Public	$5,856	53.0%	$35,006	717
Lake Erie College	Painesville	Private	$36,032	41.9%	$50,417	678
Lourdes University	Sylvania	Private	$28,930	38.1%	$48,150	668
Ursuline College	Pepper Pike	Private	$37,860	53.3%	$56,878	630
Wilberforce University	Wilberforce	Private	$14,776	16.0%	$38,298	602
Bluffton University	Bluffton	Private	$36,298	49.5%	$49,547	595
Mount Carmel College of Nursing	Columbus	Private	$13,890	70.9%	$75,103	573
Cleveland Institute of Art	Cleveland	Private	$47,880	67.5%	$42,509	560
Kettering College	Kettering	Private	$15,672	65.0%	$67,492	543
Apollo Career Center	Lima	Public	N/A	73.7%	$43,101	527
Stautzenberger College-Maumee	Maumee	For-Profit	$16,699	55.6%	$34,104	520
Fortis College-Cuyahoga Falls	Cuyahoga Falls	For-Profit	$14,050	42.6%	$34,509	489
Belmont College	St Clairsville	Public	$4,815	38.5%	$35,329	484
Butler Technology and Career Development Schools	Monroe	Public	N/A	87.3%	$56,645	483
Fortis College-Centerville	Centerville	For-Profit	$14,023	41.9%	$34,726	460
Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science	Cincinnati	Private	$15,470	75.0%	$66,111	455
Defiance College	Defiance	Private	$38,778	36.7%	$49,351	454
Collins Career Technical Center	Chesapeake	Public	N/A	60.4%	$47,329	427
Dayton School of Medical Massage	Dayton	For-Profit	$18,122	73.2%	$31,071	425
Professional Skills Institute	Maumee	For-Profit	$14,920	67.4%	$47,765	402
Athena Career Academy	Toledo	For-Profit	N/A	60.7%	N/A	395
EHOVE Career Center	Milan	Public	N/A	84.2%	$40,117	375
American Institute of Alternative Medicine	Columbus	For-Profit	$17,291	54.5%	$40,805	374
Mid-EastCTC-Adult Education	Zanesville	Public	N/A	72.6%	$40,416	268
Pickaway Ross Joint Vocational School District	Chillicothe	Public	N/A	97.1%	$46,485	237
Auburn Career Center	Concord Twp	Public	N/A	75.9%	$37,032	234
Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences	Canton	Private	$19,854	51.8%	$63,582	232
Polaris Career Center	Middleburg Heights	Public	N/A	85.7%	$38,718	230
Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County	Newark	Public	N/A	90.3%	$38,002	220
Portage Lakes Career Center	Uniontown	Public	N/A	68.8%	$38,316	217
Felbry College	Columbus	For-Profit	$27,504	76.9%	N/A	214
Warren County Career Center	Lebanon	Public	N/A	82.0%	$49,016	206
Washington County Career Center-Adult Technical Training	Marietta	Public	N/A	87.1%	$43,749	189
ETI Technical College	Niles	For-Profit	$11,060	62.5%	$34,017	182
Ohio Business College-Sheffield	Sheffield Village	For-Profit	$9,385	71.0%	$30,389	165
Buckeye Hills Career Center	Rio Grande	Public	N/A	82.6%	$40,264	163
Tri-Rivers Career Center	Marion	Public	N/A	71.4%	$48,707	162
Ashtabula County Technical and Career Campus	Jefferson	Public	N/A	48.6%	$42,163	161
Vantage Career Center	Van Wert	Public	N/A	77.1%	$33,875	158
East Ohio College	East Liverpool	For-Profit	$14,370	66.7%	$29,342	149
Northern Career Institute	Eastlake	Public	$15,600	85.7%	$49,073	140
Academia Medical Institute	Columbus	For-Profit	$14,498	N/A	N/A	133
Raphael's School of Beauty Culture Inc-Boardman	Boardman	For-Profit	N/A	77.3%	$22,437	131
Four County Career Center	Archbold	Public	N/A	N/A	$77,338	129
Scioto County Career Technical Center	Lucasville	Public	N/A	67.3%	$40,584	125
Ohio Medical Career College	Dayton	For-Profit	N/A	77.9%	N/A	121
Columbiana County Career and Technical Center	Lisbon	Public	N/A	77.9%	$33,552	114
Upper Valley Career Center	Piqua	Public	N/A	50.0%	$52,170	113
Knox County Career Center	Mount Vernon	Public	N/A	100.0%	$38,212	110
Lorain County Joint Vocational School District	Oberlin	Public	N/A	63.6%	$35,776	108
Lakewood University	Cleveland Heights	Private	$10,479	N/A	N/A	100
Davis College	Toledo	For-Profit	$14,130	8.3%	$31,588	95
Ross Medical Education Center-Cincinnati	Cincinnati	For-Profit	N/A	51.3%	$33,079	91
Madison Adult Career Center	Mansfield	Public	N/A	84.6%	$30,941	91
Cuyahoga Valley Career Center	Brecksville	Public	N/A	46.2%	$47,914	90
Wayne County Schools Career Center	Smithville	Public	N/A	81.8%	$42,774	90
Canton City Schools Adult Career and Technical Education	Canton	Public	N/A	75.0%	$42,134	87
Miami Valley Career Technology Center	Englewood	Public	N/A	87.3%	$43,502	84
Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools	Groveport	Public	N/A	68.9%	$43,780	84
Sandusky Career Center	Sandusky	Public	N/A	68.0%	$40,504	81
Buckeye Joint Vocational School	New Philadelphia	Public	N/A	86.1%	$35,889	80
Mahoning County Career and Technical Center	Canfield	Public	N/A	90.0%	$37,526	74
Choffin Career and Technical Center	Youngstown	Public	$12,889	71.6%	$34,654	73
Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing	Sandusky	Private	N/A	N/A	$68,723	71
Pioneer Career and Technology Center	Shelby	Public	N/A	N/A	$32,219	68
Orion Institute	Perrysburg	For-Profit	N/A	79.3%	$25,847	60
Brown & Clermont Adult Career Campuses	Bethel	Public	N/A	92.7%	N/A	59
Central School of Practical Nursing	Independence	Private	N/A	31.2%	$50,672	56
Medina County Career Center	Medina	Public	N/A	83.3%	$41,273	52
Ohio Institute of Allied Health	Huber Heights	Private	$24,493	N/A	N/A	39
Pike County Joint Vocational School District	Piketon	Public	N/A	N/A	$44,689	38
Adult and Community Education-Hudson	Columbus	Public	N/A	95.3%	$51,551	37
Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center	Ashland	Public	N/A	85.7%	$31,791	35
Cleveland Clinic Health System-School of Diagnostic Imaging	Euclid	Private	N/A	N/A	N/A	31
Hannah E Mullins School of Practical Nursing	Salem	Public	N/A	26.7%	$47,920	30
Trinity Health System School of Nursing	Steubenville	Private	$9,101	25.0%	$71,660	25
Tri-County Adult Career Center	Nelsonville	Public	N/A	95.8%	$26,129	24
Vanguard-Sentinel Adult Career and Technology Center	Fremont	Public	N/A	83.3%	$33,907	19

Nursing Guides & Resources

How to Become an RN RN Salary by State Most Affordable Programs Financial Aid & Scholarships BSN vs ADN Comparison Types of Nursing Degrees NCLEX Pass Rates Guide Compare Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

How many nursing schools are in Ohio?

There are 145 nursing schools in Ohio, including 76 public and 69 private institutions.

What is the average nursing school tuition in Ohio?

Average in-state tuition across nursing schools in Ohio is $21,382. Tuition ranges from $3,435 to $64,671 where data is available.

What is the average graduation rate for nursing schools in Ohio?

The average graduation rate is 58.9%, with Knox County Career Center reporting the highest rate at 100.0%.

What is the average retention rate in Ohio?

The average retention rate across nursing schools in Ohio is 74.4%.

What do graduates from nursing schools in Ohio earn?

The median schoolwide earnings figure among these institutions is $43,749 10 years after entry. This is institution-level outcomes data rather than nursing-only wage data.

What is the average student debt at nursing schools in Ohio?

Average median debt among nursing schools in Ohio is $16,880.

How much do registered nurses earn in Ohio?

Registered nurses earn a median annual salary of $74,030, with the 10th percentile at $55,270 and the 90th percentile at $100,210.

What is the RN job outlook for Ohio?

The RN occupation shows projected growth of 5% in this state, with 121,430 registered nurses employed in the latest BLS wage data.

Ohio Nursing Market Context

BLS data for Ohio shows an RN median annual wage of $74,030 and a mean of $76,420. The 10th to 90th percentile range runs from $55,270 to $100,210. Statewide RN employment is approximately 121,430 and the projected growth rate is 5 percent — slightly below the national 6 percent figure.

Median program debt of $16,880 against a $74,030 RN median wage produces a reasonable payback profile on a standard 10-year repayment plan, particularly for graduates of the lower-tuition community-college and public-university routes. The 90th-percentile figure of $100,210 reflects what experienced and specialty-certified Ohio RNs can reach, especially in the major hospital systems clustered around Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. The relatively flat 5 percent projected growth is consistent with a market that replenishes through retirements rather than capacity expansion, so newer graduates should expect to find openings without the strong tailwind that fast-growing southern and southwestern states provide.

Nursing Programs in Other States

California 286 New York 193 Florida 184 Pennsylvania 159 Texas 159 Illinois 119 North Carolina 101 Missouri 79 Georgia 78 Michigan 77