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Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

65 Colleges
$4,513 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$36,841 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, practical nursing and nursing assistants students earned 1,055 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 65 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value undergraduate certificate programs for practical nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools

#1

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Cuesta College the best value school in California for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their undergraduate certificate. Cuesta College is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Cuesta College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,338 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Cuesta College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Cuesta College Report

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Out of the 65 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Napa Valley College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Napa, Napa Valley College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Napa Valley College are $1,150 a year.

Napa Valley College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list.

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#3

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Riverside City College is a great value for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Riverside City College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,420 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Undergraduate Certificate, practical nursing majors at Riverside City College accumulate an average of around $13,034 in student debt.

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#4

Sacramento City College

Sacramento, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Sacramento City College is a great value for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their undergraduate certificate. Sacramento City is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College of the Redwoods. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the rural area of Eureka, College of the Redwoods is a public college with a small student population.

College of the Redwoods undergraduate students pay an average of $1,147 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#6

Bakersfield College

Bakersfield, CA

Bakersfield College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Bakersfield, Bakersfield College is a public college with a very large student population.

Bakersfield College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,430 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#7

College of the Desert

Palm Desert, CA

College of the Desert came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Located in the small city of Palm Desert, College of the Desert is a public college with a large student population.

College of the Desert undergraduate students pay an average of $1,326 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#8

Reedley College

Reedley, CA

Reedley College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Reedley College is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Reedley.

Reedley College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#9

Rio Hondo College

Whittier, CA

Rio Hondo College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Whittier, RHCCD is a public school with a large student population.

RHCCD undergraduate students pay an average of $1,360 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Rio Hondo College Report

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#10

Pasadena City College

Pasadena, CA

Pasadena City College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Pasadena City College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Pasadena.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pasadena City College are $1,212 a year.

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

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Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing & Nursing Assistants students in the state of California seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
11 Shasta College Redding, CA
12 Antelope Valley College Lancaster, CA
13 Mission College Santa Clara, CA

Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 113
Nevada 0

Practical Nursing Concentrations

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 65 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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