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Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California

93 Colleges
$57,601 Avg Salary
$21,889 Avg Student Debt

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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 93 schools in California to see which associate degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.

#1

Fresno City College

Fresno, CA

Our analysis found Fresno City College to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in California. Fresno City College is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.

Women make up 78% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Fresno City College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $11,400.

Full Nursing at Fresno City College Report

#2

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA

Out of the 93 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Riverside City College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public school with a large student population.

About 76% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 24% are male.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Riverside City College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,050.

Read full report on Nursing at Riverside City College

#3

Bakersfield College

Bakersfield, CA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Bakersfield College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Bakersfield, Bakersfield College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 78% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 22% are male.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Bakersfield College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $14,858.

Read More…

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means San Joaquin Delta College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Delta is a large public school located in the city of Stockton.

Women make up 68% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Delta take out while working on their Associate Degree is $15,248.

Read More…

#5

Butte College

Oroville, CA

Out of the 93 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Butte College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Butte College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Oroville.

Women make up 76% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Butte College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,826.

Read full report on Nursing at Butte College

#6

Modesto Junior College

Modesto, CA

With a ranking of #6, Modesto Junior College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Modesto, MJC is a public school with a large student population.

About 78% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 22% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from MJC take out $16,015 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

Career Networks Institute did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. CNI College is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Orange.

Women make up 73% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at CNI College accumulate an average of around $33,332 in student debt.

Read More…

With a ranking of #8, Mt. San Antonio College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the large suburb of Walnut, Mt. SAC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 69% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 31% are male.

Nursing majors at Mt. SAC take out an average of $16,459 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Mt. San Antonio College

#9

Santa Monica College

Santa Monica, CA

With a ranking of #9, Santa Monica College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. SMC is a very large public school located in the city of Santa Monica.

Women make up 75% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at SMC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $16,693.

Full Nursing at Santa Monica College Report

#10

Antelope Valley College

Lancaster, CA

Antelope Valley College ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Lancaster, Antelope Valley College is a public school with a large student population.

Women make up 84% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from Antelope Valley College take out $15,472 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#11

San Bernardino Valley College

San Bernardino, CA

San Bernardino Valley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. San Bernardino Valley College is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.

Women make up 84% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at San Bernardino Valley College

#12

Pacific Union College

Angwin, CA

With a ranking of #12, Pacific Union College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Angwin, PUC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

About 74% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 26% are male.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at PUC accumulate an average of around $29,980 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $222.

Read More…

#13

College of the Sequoias

Visalia, CA

College of the Sequoias landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. College of the Sequoias is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Visalia.

Women make up 78% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at College of the Sequoias accumulate an average of around $15,483 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at College of the Sequoias

#13

Solano Community College

Fairfield, CA

Solano Community College ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fairfield, Solano College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

About 83% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 17% are male.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Solano College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $14,561.

Read full report on Nursing at Solano Community College

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
15 Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA
16 Glendale Community College Glendale, CA
17 Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts San Mateo, CA
18 Golden West College Huntington Beach, CA

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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.

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