Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

42 Colleges
$9,683 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$98,140 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Master's 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Nursing Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 42 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's 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.

Top 10 Best Nursing Master's Degree Schools

#1

United States University

San Diego, CA

Our 2023 rankings named United States University the best value school in California for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Diego, USU is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at USU are $5,650 a year.

Read More…

Request Information

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Stanislaus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Stan State are $9,078 a year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Stanislaus Report

Request Information

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

Cal State Fullerton graduate students pay an average of $8,410 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Fullerton

Request Information

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

CSULB graduate students pay an average of $8,280 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Long Beach Report

Request Information
#5

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Sonoma State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

SSU graduate students pay an average of $9,422 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at Sonoma State University

Request Information

California State University - Chico came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the midsize city of Chico, Chico State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Chico State are $9,298 a year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Chico Report

Request Information

With a ranking of #7, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at San Jose State University Report

Request Information

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Fresno did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno State are $8,087 per year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fresno Report

Request Information

California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUDH are $8,494 per year.

Read More…

Request Information

With a ranking of #10, California State University - East Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $8,429 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Request Information

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools 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

Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.

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.

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.