2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, nursing students earned 18,329 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 5th in the state.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 69 schools in California 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California
Check out the nursing associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found Merced College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in California. Merced Community College District is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Merced.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Merced Community College District are $1,180 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Merced Community College District take out $12,152 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Merced Community College District also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Modesto Junior College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Modesto, MJC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
MJC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,274 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at MJC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $16,015.
The excellent associate degree programs at Butte College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in California. Butte College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Oroville.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Butte College are $1,368 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Butte College take out $19,826 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Joaquin Delta College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Delta is a fairly large public school located in the city of Stockton.
Delta undergraduate students pay an average of $1,288 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Delta accumulate an average of around $15,248 in student debt.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Cabrillo College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Aptos, Cabrillo College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Cabrillo College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,262 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
With a ranking of #6, Cuesta College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Cuesta College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cuesta College are $1,338 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Cuesta College take out $14,937 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
In addition to its great value ranking, Cuesta College is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list.
West Hills College-Lemoore 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. West Hills College-Lemoore is a small public school located in the rural area of Lemoore.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at West Hills College-Lemoore are $1,380 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at West Hills College-Lemoore take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,061.
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 #8 on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Marysville, Yuba College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Yuba College are $1,128 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Yuba College accumulate an average of around $11,836 in student debt.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Yuba College also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
With a ranking of #9, Santa Rosa Junior College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. SRJC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Santa Rosa.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SRJC are $1,328 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at SRJC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $16,223.
SRJC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list.
Sacramento City 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 #10 on the list. Sacramento City is a large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
On average, nursing graduates from Sacramento City take out $13,621 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing students in the state of California seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Santa Barbara City College | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 12 | Ventura College | Ventura, CA |
| 13 | Mt. San Antonio College | Walnut, CA |
Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 3,851 |
| Oregon | 1,502 |
| Nevada | 2,015 |
| Hawaii | 535 |
| Alaska | 177 |
More Nursing Rankings in California
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.
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 25 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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