2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California
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.
2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California
The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools
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 large 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.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Riverside City College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public college with a fairly 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.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bakersfield College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the 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.
Full Nursing at Bakersfield College Report
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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 fairly 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.
Full Nursing at San Joaquin Delta College Report
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Butte College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Butte College is a medium-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.
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Modesto Junior College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Modesto, MJC 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.
On average, nursing graduates from MJC take out $16,015 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Career Networks Institute came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. CNI College is a small private for-profit school located in the 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.
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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 school with a very 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.
Full Nursing at Mt. San Antonio College Report
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Santa Monica 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 #9 on the list. SMC is a very large public school located in the small 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.
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Antelope 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 #10 on the 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.
Full Nursing at Antelope Valley College Report
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San Bernardino Valley College ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. San Bernardino Valley College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of San Bernardino.
Women make up 84% of the nursing majors at the school.
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Pacific Union College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the rural area of Angwin, PUC is a private not-for-profit college with a 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.
Full Nursing at Pacific Union College Report
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Solano Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized 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.
Full Nursing at Solano Community College Report
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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.
Full Nursing at College of the Sequoias Report
Request InformationAdditional 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 |
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.