2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 322,592 nursing students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #3 most popular in the country.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 99 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 15% Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Baptist Health System School of Health Professions the best school in the Southwest Region for nursing students working on their associate degree. Baptist Health System School of Health Professions is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Antonio.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Baptist Health System School of Health Professions accumulate an average of around $27,515 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $110.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of San Antonio, Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio accumulate an average of around $35,636 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $111.
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The excellent associate degree programs at South Texas College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Southwest Region . South Texas College is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of McAllen.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at South Texas College accumulate an average of around $11,425 in student debt.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Central Arizona College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Pinal County Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Coolidge.
On average, nursing graduates from Pinal County Community College take out $19,049 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Out of the 99 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeast Texas Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. NTCC is a small public school located in the rural area of Mount Pleasant.
Nursing majors at NTCC take out an average of $22,867 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Carrington College, Mesquite ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Carrington College, Mesquite is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Mesquite.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Carrington College, Mesquite carry an average student debtload of $30,485.
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With a ranking of #7, El Centro College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. El Centro College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Dallas.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from El Centro College carry an average student debtload of $20,883.
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Weatherford College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the fringe town of Weatherford, Weatherford College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Weatherford College take out $20,388 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Lone Star College System ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of The Woodlands, North Harris Montgomery is a public school with a fairly large student population.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at North Harris Montgomery accumulate an average of around $19,210 in student debt.
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Panola College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Panola College is a small public school located in the town of Carthage.
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Amarillo College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Amarillo, Amarillo College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Amarillo College accumulate an average of around $22,468 in student debt.
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Austin Community College District did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Austin Community College District is a very large public school located in the large city of Austin.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Austin Community College District accumulate an average of around $18,983 in student debt.
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Mohave Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the rural area of Kingman, MCC is a public school with a small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from MCC take out $24,170 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Del Mar College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Corpus Christi, DMC is a public college with a large student population.
On average, nursing graduates from DMC take out $12,323 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Temple College | Temple, TX |
| 16 | Texas State Technical College | Waco, TX |
| 17 | San Jacinto Community College | Pasadena, TX |
| 18 | Houston Community College | Houston, TX |
| 19 | Tarrant County College District | Fort Worth, TX |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Texas | 21,862 |
| Arizona | 12,966 |
| Oklahoma | 3,009 |
| New Mexico | 1,390 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Southwest Region
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 89,359 |
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 84,492 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
| Allied Health Professions | 82,308 |
| Public Health | 40,596 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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