LPN SCHOOLS IN LOUISIANA — Federal Data, September 2026
LPN Schools in Louisiana, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
15 accredited institutions in Louisiana report enough federal data on this program to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 15 ranked programs in Louisiana, the median graduate needs 5.9 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $20,055, against median earnings of $44,323 one year after completion.
That is slower than the national median of 4.3 months for this field, measured across the 650 institutions in our national LPN schools ranking. The best performer in the state is SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles, at 2.2 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Louisiana institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about LPN schools in Louisiana
The Ranking
15 LPN schools in Louisiana, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SOWELA Technical Community CollegeLake Charles, LA | Public | Certificate | 2.2 | $8,000 | $43,365 | 43% |
| 2 | Northwest Louisiana Technical Community CollegeMinden, LA | Public | Certificate | 3.9 | $14,354 | $43,922 | 77% |
| 3 | Delta College of Arts & TechnologyBaton Rouge, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.0 | $19,999 | $47,526 | 65% |
| 4 | Delta College IncCovington, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.0 | $20,055 | $48,157 | 71% |
| 5 | Delta College of Arts & Technology-Lafayette CampusLafayette, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.0 | $19,999 | $47,526 | 56% |
| 6 | Delta College-Slidell CampusSlidell, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.0 | $20,055 | $48,157 | 62% |
| 7 | Louisiana Delta Community CollegeMonroe, LA | Public | Certificate | 5.8 | $20,000 | $41,570 | 30% |
| 8 | Compass Career CollegeHammond, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 5.9 | $26,278 | $53,339 | 59% |
| 9 | South Louisiana Community CollegeLafayette, LA | Public | Certificate | 6.0 | $20,214 | $40,153 | 30% |
| 10 | Northshore Technical Community CollegeLacombe, LA | Public | Certificate | 6.1 | $19,696 | $38,643 | 40% |
| 11 | Healthcare Training InstituteKenner, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 6.1 | $31,500 | $62,470 | 29% |
| 12 | Fortis College-Baton RougeBaton Rouge, LA | for-profit | Certificate | 6.4 | $24,708 | $45,996 | 50% |
| 13 | River Parishes Community CollegeGonzales, LA | Public | Certificate | 8.2 | $30,029 | $43,978 | 30% |
| 14 | Nunez Community CollegeChalmette, LA | Public | Certificate | 10.1 | $37,138 | $44,323 | 27% |
| 15 | Delgado Community CollegeNew Orleans, LA | Public | Certificate | 10.9 | $38,569 | $42,416 | 24% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in Louisiana, one by one
SOWELA Technical Community College
Lake Charles, LA
SOWELA Technical Community College is a public institution in Lake Charles. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $8,000 and report median earnings of $43,365 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.2 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 3.7 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 43% completion rate.
Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College
Minden, LA
Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College is a public institution in Minden. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $14,354 and report median earnings of $43,922 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.9 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 2.0 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 77% completion rate.
Delta College of Arts & Technology
Baton Rouge, LA
Delta College of Arts & Technology is a private for-profit institution in Baton Rouge. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $19,999 and report median earnings of $47,526 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.0 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 65% completion rate.
Delta College Inc
Covington, LA
Delta College Inc is a private for-profit institution in Covington. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $20,055 and report median earnings of $48,157 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.0 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 71% completion rate.
Delta College of Arts & Technology-Lafayette Campus
Lafayette, LA
Delta College of Arts & Technology-Lafayette Campus is a private for-profit institution in Lafayette. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $19,999 and report median earnings of $47,526 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.0 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Louisiana state median of 5.9. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 56% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other States
The same program, another state
Other Programs in Louisiana
Comparing a different trade in Louisiana
For LOUISIANA School Operators
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