Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

2023 Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

142 Colleges
$4,622 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$43,116 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Health Professions Associate Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 977,800 health professions students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #2 most popular in the country.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 142 schools in the Southwest Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for health professions 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Top 15% Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools

Our analysis found New Mexico Junior College to be the best value school for health professions students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Southwest Region . New Mexico Junior College is a small public school located in the town of Hobbs.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at New Mexico Junior College are $2,280 per year.

Read More…

Request Information

Out of the 142 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Clovis Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Clovis Community College is a small public school located in the town of Clovis.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clovis Community College are $2,984 per year.

Read full report on Health Professions at Clovis Community College

Request Information
#3

Central Arizona College

Coolidge, AZ

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Arizona College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the rural area of Coolidge, Pinal County Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Pinal County Community College are $5,160 a year.

Read full report on Health Professions at Central Arizona College

Request Information
#4

Panola College

Carthage, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Panola College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the distant town of Carthage, Panola College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Panola College are $4,680 a year.

Panola College also claimed a spot on our Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Health Professions at Panola College

Request Information

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Alvin Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Alvin is a small public school located in the suburb of Alvin.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Alvin are $4,010 per year.

Read More…

Request Information
#6

College of the Mainland

Texas City, TX

With a ranking of #6, College of the Mainland did quite well on this year’s best value schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. COM is a small public school located in the suburb of Texas City.

COM undergraduate students pay an average of $3,873 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Request Information
#7

South Plains College

Levelland, TX

With a ranking of #7, South Plains College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

South Plains College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,276 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Health Professions at South Plains College

Request Information
#8

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

Amarillo College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Amarillo College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Amarillo.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Amarillo College are $4,704 a year.

Full Health Professions at Amarillo College Report

Request Information

With a ranking of #9, Wharton County Junior College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the town of Wharton, Wharton County Junior College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Wharton County Junior College are $4,872 a year.

Read More…

Request Information

With a ranking of #10, New Mexico State University - Carlsbad did quite well on this year’s best value schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. NMSU Carlsbad is a small public school located in the rural area of Carlsbad.

NMSU Carlsbad undergraduate students pay an average of $4,008 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Request Information
#11

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

El Centro College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a very large student population.

El Centro College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in tuition and fees each year.

El Centro College also made our Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, coming in at #3.

Full Health Professions at El Centro College Report

Request Information
#12

Clarendon College

Clarendon, TX

Clarendon College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Clarendon College is a small public school located in the rural area of Clarendon.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Clarendon College are $4,176 a year.

Full Health Professions at Clarendon College Report

Request Information
#13

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

Tyler Junior College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Tyler, Tyler Junior College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Tyler Junior College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,440 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Request Information

Houston Community College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Houston Community College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Houston.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Houston Community College are $5,460 per year.

Read More…

Request Information
#15

Lee College

Baytown, TX

With a ranking of #15, Lee College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for health professions students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lee College are $4,302 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Lee College also is in the top 10% of our Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Full Health Professions at Lee College Report

Request Information

San Jacinto Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a very large student population.

San Jacinto College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,040 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Health Professions at San Jacinto Community College

Request Information
#17

Galveston College

Galveston, TX

Galveston College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Galveston College is a small public school located in the town of Galveston.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Galveston College are $5,200 per year.

Read More…

Request Information
#19

Northeast Texas Community College

Mount Pleasant, TX

Northeast Texas Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for health professions students to get a associate degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the rural area of Mount Pleasant, NTCC is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NTCC are $6,449 per year.

Read More…

Request Information
#20

San Juan College

Farmington, NM

San Juan College landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree health professions programs. Located in the small city of Farmington, SJC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

SJC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,546 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Health Professions at San Juan College

Request Information
#21

Victoria College

Victoria, TX

Victoria College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Victoria College is a small public school located in the small city of Victoria.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Victoria College are $4,872 a year.

Full Health Professions at Victoria College Report

Request Information

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Health Professions students in the Southwest Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
22 Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX
23 Lone Star College System The Woodlands, TX
24 Del Mar College Corpus Christi, TX
25 Odessa College Odessa, TX
26 University of New Mexico - Gallup Campus Gallup, NM
27 University of New Mexico - Taos Campus Ranchos de Taos, NM
28 Temple College Temple, TX

Best Health Professions Colleges by State

Explore the best health professions schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 24,705
Texas 45,833
New Mexico 3,731
Oklahoma 6,642

Health Professions Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592
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
Health Sciences & Services 35,945
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,833
Mental & Social Health Services 29,053
Medicine 28,629
Dental Support Services 26,399
Communication Sciences 22,298
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 20,393
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 18,901
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services 10,751
Health/Medical Prep Programs 9,210
Other Health Professions 7,984
Dentistry 6,770
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 6,158
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 5,115
Alternative Medicine & Systems 3,564
Chiropractic 2,658
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 2,374
Medical Illustration & Informatics 2,089
Optometry 1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,775
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 960
Medical Science 909
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 294
Alternative Medical Support Services 227
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 68

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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Find Schools Near You

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