2026 Best Value Clinical Nurse Leader Schools in Washington
[Clinical Nurse Leader](/majors/health-care-professions/nursing/clinical-nurse-leader/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for clinical nurse leader students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Clinical Nurse Leader Schools in Washington
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the clinical nurse leader degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Clinical Nurse Leader Schools
Leading the list is Pacific Lutheran University, our #1 best value for clinical nurse leader in Washington. Set in the suburb of Tacoma, Pacific Lutheran University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $50,916. Students borrow a median of $29,000 to complete the clinical nurse leader program here. Early-career clinical nurse leader graduates make about $91,961. Set against $29,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 78% of applicants are accepted.
A rank of #2 makes Seattle University one of the best values for clinical nurse leader. Seattle University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle. In-state tuition and fees average $56,721. Students borrow a median of $25,000 to complete the clinical nurse leader program here. Soon after graduation, clinical nurse leader degree recipients from Seattle University generally make around $63,214. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 77%.
Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 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.
