2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
With 322,592 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, nursing is the #3 most popular major in the United States.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 118 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health the best value school in the Far Western US Region for nursing students working on their associate degree. L.A. County School of Nursing is a small public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from L.A. County School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $21,695.
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Out of the 118 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Seattle Central College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Seattle Central is a small public school located in the city of Seattle.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Seattle Central are $4,670 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Seattle Central take out while working on their Associate Degree is $23,418.
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Out of the 118 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Highline College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Des Moines, Highline is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Highline are $4,813 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Highline accumulate an average of around $17,371 in student debt.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Highline also is in the top 15% of our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Centralia College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Centralia College is a small public school located in the town of Centralia.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Centralia College are $5,239 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Centralia College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $12,250.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Centralia College also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wenatchee Valley College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the small city of Wenatchee, WVC is a public college with a small student population.
WVC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,734 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at WVC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,904.
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Merced College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the small city of Merced, Merced Community College District is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Merced Community College District are $7,444 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Merced Community College District carry an average student debtload of $12,152.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Merced Community College District also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Umpqua Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the rural area of Roseburg, Umpqua Community College is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Umpqua Community College are $5,945 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Umpqua Community College accumulate an average of around $21,230 in student debt.
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Yakima Valley College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of Yakima, YVC is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at YVC are $5,352 per year. On average, nursing graduates from YVC take out $21,518 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Lower Columbia College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. LCC is a small public school located in the small city of Longview.
LCC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,403 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at LCC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $21,451.
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With a ranking of #10, Spokane Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Spokane Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Spokane.
Spokane Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,135 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Spokane Community College take out an average of $23,946 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Butte College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Butte College are $7,848 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Butte College carry an average student debtload of $19,826.
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Yuba College 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. Yuba College is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Marysville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Yuba College are $7,488 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Yuba College take out $11,836 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Yuba College also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Ventura College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Ventura College is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ventura.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ventura College are $7,398 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Ventura College take out $18,169 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Modesto Junior College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #14 on the list. MJC is a large public school located in the midsize city of Modesto.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MJC are $8,550 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at MJC accumulate an average of around $16,015 in student debt.
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Big Bend Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Big Bend Community College is a small public school located in the remote town of Moses Lake.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Big Bend Community College are $5,098 per year.
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Southwestern Oregon Community College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. SWOCC is a small public school located in the town of Coos Bay.
SWOCC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,483 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at SWOCC accumulate an average of around $21,611 in student debt.
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Antelope Valley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Antelope Valley College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Lancaster.
Antelope Valley College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,980 in tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Antelope Valley College take out $15,472 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing students in the Far Western US Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Cabrillo College | Aptos, CA |
| 19 | Rogue Community College | Grants Pass, OR |
| 20 | Glendale Community College | Glendale, CA |
| 21 | Moorpark College | Moorpark, CA |
| 21 | Cuesta College | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 23 | Columbia Gorge Community College | The Dalles, OR |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| California | 18,329 |
| Washington | 3,851 |
| Oregon | 1,502 |
| Nevada | 2,015 |
| Hawaii | 535 |
| Alaska | 177 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Far Western US Region
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
One of 30 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 26 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 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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