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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

40 Colleges
$10,256 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

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. 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 Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 40 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

#1

Otero Junior College

La Junta, CO

Our analysis found Otero Junior College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Rocky Mountains Region . Located in the town of La Junta, Otero JC is a public school with a small student population.

Otero JC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,563 in tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Otero JC take out $30,299 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Otero Junior College Report

#2

College of Eastern Idaho

Idaho Falls, ID

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means College of Eastern Idaho is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. CEI is a small public school located in the small city of Idaho Falls.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CEI are $6,222 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at CEI accumulate an average of around $27,941 in student debt.

Full Nursing at College of Eastern Idaho Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado Northwestern Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. CNCC is a small public school located in the rural area of Rangely.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CNCC are $6,596 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CNCC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $23,243.

Read More…

Out of the 40 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, College of Western Idaho landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Nampa, CWI is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CWI are $7,344 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from CWI carry an average student debtload of $22,571.

Full Nursing at College of Western Idaho Report

The excellent associate degree programs at Trinidad State Junior College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . Located in the remote town of Trinidad, Trinidad State Junior College is a public college with a small student population.

Trinidad State Junior College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,631 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Trinidad State Junior College take out an average of $26,288 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Trinidad State Junior College Report

Lamar Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. LCC is a fairly small public school located in the remote town of Lamar.

LCC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,592 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at LCC take out an average of $27,872 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#7

North Idaho College

Coeur d'Alene, ID

With a ranking of #7, North Idaho College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Coeur d'Alene, NIC is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIC are $8,736 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at NIC accumulate an average of around $20,920 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at North Idaho College

#8

College of Southern Idaho

Twin Falls, ID

College of Southern Idaho 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 town of Twin Falls, College of Southern Idaho is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at College of Southern Idaho are $6,840 per year. Nursing majors at College of Southern Idaho take out an average of $22,395 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at College of Southern Idaho

#9

Miles Community College

Miles City, MT

With a ranking of #9, Miles Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Miles Community College is a fairly small public school located in the town of Miles City.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Miles Community College are $9,840 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Miles Community College take out $31,452 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Miles Community College

With a ranking of #9, Northeastern Junior College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. NJC is a small public school located in the remote town of Sterling.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NJC are $7,544 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at NJC accumulate an average of around $26,280 in student debt.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains region.

State Degrees Awarded
Colorado 6,496
Utah 17,535
Idaho 1,593
Montana 745
Wyoming 397

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 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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