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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

52 Colleges
$2,362 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was ranked 3rd in North Carolina. In fact, 7,425 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

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.

The Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 52 schools in North Carolina 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 North Carolina

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

Craven Community College

New Bern, NC

Our analysis found Craven Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in North Carolina. Located in the small city of New Bern, Craven Community College is a public school with a small student population.

Craven Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,022 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Craven Community College carry an average student debtload of $13,449.

Craven Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Nursing at Craven Community College Report

#2

Pitt Community College

Winterville, NC

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Pitt Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Pitt Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Winterville.

Pitt Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,940 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Pitt Community College accumulate an average of around $19,613 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Pitt Community College

The excellent associate degree programs at South Piedmont Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in North Carolina. South Piedmont Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Polkton.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Piedmont Community College are $2,015 per year. On average, nursing graduates from South Piedmont Community College take out $14,866 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

South Piedmont Community College also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

#4

College of the Albemarle

Elizabeth City, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College of the Albemarle. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list. College of the Albemarle is a small public school located in the distant town of Elizabeth City.

College of the Albemarle undergraduate students pay an average of $2,228 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from College of the Albemarle take out $11,908 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at College of the Albemarle

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Forsyth Technical Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Forsyth Tech is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Winston-Salem.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Forsyth Tech are $2,152 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Forsyth Tech take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,943.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, Vance-Granville Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Vance-Granville Community College is a small public school located in the distant town of Henderson.

Vance-Granville Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,944 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Vance-Granville Community College accumulate an average of around $12,961 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Vance-Granville Community College

McDowell Technical 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. McDowell Technical Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Marion.

McDowell Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,926 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Alamance 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 #8 on the list. Located in the rural area of Graham, ACC is a public college with a small student population.

ACC undergraduate students pay an average of $2,310 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at ACC accumulate an average of around $10,303 in student debt.

ACC also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Nursing at Alamance Community College

Davidson County Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the rural area of Thomasville, DCCC is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DCCC are $2,226 a year. Nursing majors at DCCC take out an average of $18,621 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

Brunswick Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Brunswick Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Bolivia.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Brunswick Community College are $2,532 per year. Nursing majors at Brunswick Community College take out an average of $11,775 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 7,112
Virginia 6,775
Florida 21,209
Tennessee 6,004
Kentucky 6,395
South Carolina 3,296
Louisiana 3,502
Arkansas 2,882
Alabama 7,364
Mississippi 2,838
West Virginia 1,771

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.

  • 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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