Best Nursing Programs in New Mexico (2026)
Updated
This page ranks the 5 Nursing programs in New Mexico by median earnings of Nursing graduates four years after completing, highest first. New Mexico Highlands University leads the list with median earnings of $97,309 for its graduates four years after completing.
Across the five programs, the figures range from $97,309 to $78,951, with a median of $86,559.
All 5 listed programs are at 5 public institutions. Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus posts the lowest average net price on the page at $4,904.
University of New Mexico-Main Campus ranks 150th on Azimuth's composite ranking among the 1,467 public and private nonprofit four-year institutions Azimuth ranks nationally, and it also reports the highest admission rate, admitting 95% of applicants.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico Highlands University · Las Vegas, NM | $97,309 | $14,838 | $13,511 | Not reported |
| New Mexico Highlands University ranks 1st on this list, with median earnings of $97,309 for its Nursing graduates four years after completing, and an average net price of $14,838. | |||||
| 2 | Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus · Portales, NM | $95,650 | $4,904 | $3,663 | 91.7% |
| Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus admits 92% of applicants and posts an average net price of $4,904, the lowest among the five listed schools. | |||||
| 3 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus · Albuquerque, NM | $86,559 | $15,489 | $11,938 | 95.2% |
| University of New Mexico-Main Campus reports $86,559 in median earnings for its Nursing graduates four years after completing, alongside a median federal debt of $19,250 among Nursing completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 4 | Western New Mexico University · Silver City, NM | $84,626 | $8,522 | $8,381 | Not reported |
| Western New Mexico University ranks 4th on this list and shows an average net price of $8,381 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 5 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM | $78,951 | $8,889 | $6,648 | 89.0% |
| New Mexico State University-Main Campus reports $78,951 in median earnings for its Nursing graduates four years after completing, with a cohort of 153 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Nursing graduates four years after completing, highest first. The figures are medians for federally aided completers of the program who were working and not enrolled four years after completing. The metric does not adjust for graduate school enrollment, cost, or the characteristics of the students who enroll, and it is not a measure of teaching quality. The spread from New Mexico Highlands University to the fifth-ranked program is $18,358, with a gap of $1,659 between New Mexico Highlands University and Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus.
Job market context in New Mexico
The occupations linked to Nursing in New Mexico, such as Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners, carry a median annual wage of $100,140; a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $86,841. Projections for 2024 to 2034 show about 1,670 openings a year, or about 206 openings a year for every hundred graduates, with more projected openings than graduates. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 14.1% higher. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. The ranking above uses graduate earnings four years after completing, not the occupation-wide wage figures described here.
Related rankings
- Health Professions Colleges in New Mexico
- Nursing Colleges in New Mexico