Best Child Development Schools Near Nashville, TN (2026)

Updated September 5, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Nashville, Tennessee has 5 accredited schools offering child development programs. Nashville has a population of about 1,065,078. In the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area, the top-earning child development-related role is Special Education Teachers, Preschool at a median $63,830 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Child Development Schools to Nashville

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer child development programs near Nashville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Nashville city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Nashville. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN 2.0 miles from Nashville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
91.4 BOC Score
Graduation rate 93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $91,565
Avg net price $15,846/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 96%
  • Programs offered: 157

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Nashville State Community College

Nashville, TN 4.8 miles from Nashville
  • 2 year
  • Offers a fully online program
39.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 24%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $38,519
Avg net price $6,777/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 32

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Tennessee schools on the Tennessee child development page.

Child Development Wages Near Nashville

Nashville is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area (BLS area code 34980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Tennessee statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education $34,510 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $35,836
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare $47,450 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $49,273
Child, Family, and School Social Workers $55,630 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $57,767
Childcare Workers $34,450 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $35,774
Special Education Teachers, Preschool $63,830 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $66,282
Social and Human Service Assistants $43,860 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $45,545
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education $60,680 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $63,011
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other $54,250 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN $56,334

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.

Nashville at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 96.3 (below U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Nashville-Area Cities With Child Development Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited child development schools are near Nashville, TN?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering child development programs near Nashville. The closest is Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN (2.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Oakwood University (98.1 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying child development roles near Nashville?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying child development-related roles near Nashville are: Special Education Teachers, Preschool ($63,830), Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education ($60,680), Child, Family, and School Social Workers ($55,630). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Tennessee statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Brentwood instead of Nashville?

Brentwood, TN is 12.4 miles from Nashville and has its own set of local child development programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.

Learn More About Child Development Programs

Other Programs Available in Nashville

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Nashville:

Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.

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