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Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

22 Colleges
$9,070 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,222 Avg Salary

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.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for practical nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for practical nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools

#1

Merced College

Merced, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Merced College the best value school in the Far Western US Region for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Merced, Merced Community College District is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Merced Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $7,444 in tuition and fees each year.

Merced Community College District also took the #1 spot in our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region rankings.

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#2

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

Out of the 22 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Cuesta College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Cuesta College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,702 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cuesta College also did well on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#3

Imperial Valley College

Imperial, CA

Out of the 22 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Imperial Valley College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Imperial, IVC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

IVC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,646 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Imperial Valley College Report

#4

Butte College

Oroville, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Butte College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Butte College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,848 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, practical nursing graduates from Butte College carry an average student debtload of $18,505.

Butte College also took the #5 spot in our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region rankings.

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#5

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Santa Barbara City College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the small city of Santa Barbara, SBCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

SBCC undergraduate students pay an average of $8,912 in tuition and fees each year.

SBCC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Santa Barbara City College Report

Napa Valley College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Napa Valley College is a small public school located in the small city of Napa.

Napa Valley College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,734 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Napa Valley College

With a ranking of #7, College of the Redwoods did quite well on this year’s best value schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their associate degree. College of the Redwoods is a small public school located in the rural area of Eureka.

College of the Redwoods undergraduate students pay an average of $8,131 in tuition and fees each year.

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#8

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA

Riverside City College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Riverside City College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Riverside.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Riverside City College are $10,120 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, practical nursing graduates from Riverside City College carry an average student debtload of $7,686.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Riverside City College also did well on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Riverside City College

#9

Sacramento City College

Sacramento, CA

Sacramento City College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sacramento City is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sacramento City are $10,168 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Sacramento City is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

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#10

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, CA

With a ranking of #10, Santa Rosa Junior College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SRJC are $8,952 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, SRJC is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Santa Rosa Junior College

Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges by State

Explore the best practical nursing and nursing assistants schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 113
California 1,055
Nevada 0

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 22 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.

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