2026 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools in Rhode Island

[Registered Nursing](/majors/health-care-professions/nursing/registered-nursing/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong registered nursing education at a price that pays off.
College Factual analyzed 7 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value registered nursing schools.
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2026 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools in Rhode Island
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in registered nursing, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Registered Nursing Schools
For return on investment in registered nursing, no school beat Community College Of Rhode Island this year. Set in the city of Warwick, Community College Of Rhode Island is a large public institution. Students from in state pay about $5,550 in tuition and fees, with out-of-state students paying around $14,834. Typical student debt for registered nursing graduates is $21,000. Registered Nursing graduates of Community College Of Rhode Island earn a median of $66,988 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.
A rank of #2 makes Rhode Island College one of the best values for registered nursing. Located in the suburb of Providence, Rhode Island College is a large public university. Students from in state pay about $11,300 in tuition and fees, with out-of-state students paying around $27,299. Typical student debt for registered nursing graduates is $27,000. Registered Nursing graduates of Rhode Island College earn a median of $107,588 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Rhode Island College admits about 92% of applicants.
A rank of #3 makes University Of Rhode Island one of the best values for registered nursing. Located in the suburb of Kingston, University Of Rhode Island is a very large public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $16,942, while out-of-state students pay about $37,146. Typical student debt for registered nursing graduates is $26,390. Early-career registered nursing graduates make about $95,762. That is a strong return on a $26,390 median debt. University Of Rhode Island admits about 72% of applicants.
A rank of #4 makes Salve Regina University one of the best values for registered nursing. Salve Regina University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Newport. Students from in state pay about $50,100 in tuition and fees. Students borrow a median of $27,000 to complete the registered nursing program here. Early-career registered nursing graduates make about $78,876. Set against $27,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Salve Regina University admits about 68% of applicants.
A rank of #5 makes New England Institute Of Technology one of the best values for registered nursing. Set in the suburb of East Greenwich, New England Institute Of Technology is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. Students from in state pay about $37,275 in tuition and fees. Typical student debt for registered nursing graduates is $29,799. Early-career registered nursing graduates make about $80,051. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 67% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 7 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 5 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.