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2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools

45 Colleges
$41,222 Avg Salary
$20,983 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree School for You

With 84,274 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, practical nursing and nursing assistants is the #2 most popular major in the United States.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 45 schools in the United States to see which associate degree programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts the best school in the United States for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their associate degree. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a small private for-profit school located in the city of San Mateo.

Practical Nursing majors at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts take out an average of $18,804 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts

#2

Unitek College

Fremont, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Unitek College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools list. Unitek College is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Fremont.

After completing their Associate Degree, practical nursing graduates from Unitek College carry an average student debtload of $20,602. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $184.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Unitek College

#3

PITC Institute

Wyncote, PA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend PITC Institute. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools list. PITC Institute is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Wyncote.

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#4

Pacific College

Costa Mesa, CA

Out of the 45 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Pacific College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Costa Mesa, Pacific College is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

The average amount in student loans that practical nursing majors at Pacific College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,773.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Pacific College Report

#5

ATA College

Louisville, KY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend ATA College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Louisville, ATA College is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

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Carrington College, Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the suburb of Sacramento, Carrington College, Sacramento is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Practical Nursing majors at Carrington College, Sacramento take out an average of $31,342 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Carrington College, Sacramento

#7

Merced College

Merced, CA

Merced College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the small city of Merced, Merced Community College District is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Merced College Report

North Dakota State College of Science ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Wahpeton, North Dakota State College of Science is a public college with a small student population.

Practical Nursing majors at North Dakota State College of Science take out an average of $23,924 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Platt College - Tulsa came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools ranking. Platt College - Tulsa is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Tulsa.

Practical Nursing majors at Platt College - Tulsa take out an average of $26,844 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Platt College - Tulsa

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants by Region

View the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Practical Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training 44,900
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide 34,557
Other Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants 4,817

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

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