Quick answer: The Philadelphia metro employs about 2,050 nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary (BLS OEWS, May 2025), and licensing is set at the state level, through your state board of nursing and the programs you are targeting.
Compare nursing education programs enrolling now:
Licensing is a state matter, not a city one. There is no separate license for nurse educators. The prerequisite is an active registered nurse license from a state board of nursing, and the qualification for the teaching role is set by the hiring program and its accreditor, CCNE or ACEN, rather than nationally. Faculty-qualification expectations differ substantially between community-college instruction and university appointments.
See the Pennsylvania licensing and pay overview for the statewide picture, and confirm current requirements with your state board of nursing and the programs you are targeting.
Schools in our database near this area, ranked by BOC Score. The list favors schools with a related program on record, but program availability and delivery format change, so confirm directly with any school that it currently offers the program you want.
This page lists 6 schools within 133 miles, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 6 of them carry a score.
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary in the Philadelphia area earn a median $81,040 per year, above the national median of $80,250 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
| Metric | Philadelphia metro | Pennsylvania | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $81,040 | $78,460 | $80,250 |
| 10th percentile | $47,280 | $47,280 | $48,800 |
| 25th percentile | $61,550 | $60,360 | $63,510 |
| 75th percentile | $102,560 | $99,300 | $101,090 |
| 90th percentile | $118,470 | $107,640 | $129,500 |
| Employment | 2,050 | 4,290 | 77,960 |
| Location quotient | 1.41 | - | 1.00 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Metro figures cover the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan statistical area.
The Philadelphia median of $81,040 is above the national median of $80,250, and above the Pennsylvania statewide median of $78,460 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The metro’s location quotient of 1.41 means nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary are more concentrated here than in the average U.S. labor market (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Higher concentration generally means more employers competing for the same people, and an easier job change later.
Nurse educator demand follows the number and size of nursing programs in a region, which is why it does not track general healthcare employment closely.
| Metro area | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | $73,830 | 720 |
| Allentown | $77,880 | 360 |
| Scranton | $76,710 | 170 |
| Harrisburg | $61,900 | 150 |
| Lancaster | $75,770 | 120 |
| Erie | $65,880 | 100 |
Figures: BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Wage and employment figures describe the occupation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not the graduates of any particular program, and individual outcomes may vary. Licensing rules change; confirm current requirements with the responsible state board before enrolling.
The median annual wage for nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area is $81,040, above the national median of $80,250 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area employs about 2,050 nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Licensing is handled at state level rather than by city. There is no separate license for nurse educators. The prerequisite is an active registered nurse license from a state board of nursing, and the qualification for the teaching role is set by the hiring program and its accreditor, CCNE or ACEN, rather than nationally. Faculty-qualification expectations differ substantially between community-college instruction and university appointments. Confirm current requirements with your state board of nursing and the programs you are targeting.
The academic portion of these programs is widely available online for working adults, while labs, clinical hours or supervised field work are completed in person. Check that the program's accreditation satisfies your state board of nursing and the programs you are targeting.
The Philadelphia metro median is $81,040 against a statewide median of $78,460 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Compare that gap with the difference in living costs before treating it as a raise.
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
