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2023 Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools

576 Colleges

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate 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 Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 576 schools in the United States to see which basic certificate programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Colleges.

#1

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Our 2023 rankings named Ivy Tech Community College the most popular school in the United States for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.

Of the 1,767 students majoring in practical nursing at Ivy Tech Community College, 10% are male and 90% are female.

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Out of the 576 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College landed the # 2 spot on the list. NWTC is a large public school located in the city of Green Bay.

About 88% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 12% are male.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a great place for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Lexington.

Of the 565 students majoring in practical nursing at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, 13% are male and 87% are female.

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The in-demand basic certificate programs at Gateway Technical College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular practical nursing and nursing assistants schools in the United States. Gateway Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Kenosha.

Of the 564 students majoring in practical nursing at Gateway Technical College, 9% are male and 91% are female.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Waukesha County Technical College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 86% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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#6

College of Lake County

Grayslake, IL

With a ranking of #6, College of Lake County did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Located in the suburb of Grayslake, College of Lake County is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 91% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 9% are male.

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Madison Area Technical College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Madison, Madison College is a public college with a large student population.

Women make up 86% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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Moraine Park Technical College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Moraine Park Technical College is a small public school located in the city of Fond du Lac.

About 89% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 11% are male.

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Fox Valley Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. FVTC is a large public school located in the midsize suburb of Appleton.

About 86% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

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#10

Access Careers

Hempstead, NY

With a ranking of #10, Access Careers did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Access Careers is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Hempstead.

Women make up 92% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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Mountainland Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the suburb of Lehi, Mountainland Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

Women make up 89% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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Columbus State Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Columbus, Columbus State is a public college with a very large student population.

About 88% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 13% are male.

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Jefferson Community and Technical College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Jefferson Community and Technical College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Louisville.

Women make up 90% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. WSU Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Wichita.

Women make up 89% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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#15

Davis Technical College

Kaysville, UT

Davis Technical College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Davis Tech is a small public school located in the suburb of Kaysville.

Of the 360 students majoring in practical nursing at Davis Tech, 19% are male and 81% are female.

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Chippewa Valley Technical College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

About 85% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

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Northcentral Technical College landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. North Central Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Wausau.

Women make up 86% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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William Rainey Harper College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Harper College is a large public school located in the suburb of Palatine.

About 86% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

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#19

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Johnson County Community College ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 91% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 9% are male.

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Des Moines Area Community College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public school with a very large student population.

About 93% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 7% are male.

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West Kentucky Community and Technical College ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a small public school located in the town of Paducah.

About 92% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 8% are male.

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With a ranking of #22, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College is a small public school located in the small suburb of Valdosta.

Of the 308 students majoring in practical nursing at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, 12% are male and 88% are female.

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Gateway Community and Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #23 on the list. Gateway is a small public school located in the suburb of Florence.

About 88% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 12% are male.

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Western Iowa Tech Community College landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Sioux City.

About 90% of the students majoring in practical nursing at the school are women while 10% are male.

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Minnesota West Community and Technical College landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Located in the town of Granite Falls, Minnesota West is a public college with a small student population.

Women make up 88% of the practical nursing majors at the school.

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#28

College of Southern Nevada

Las Vegas, NV
#29

Access Careers Islandia

Islandia, NY
#30

Hutchinson Community College

Hutchinson, KS
#31

Madisonville Community College

Madisonville, KY
#32

Blackhawk Technical College

Janesville, WI
#33

Infinity College

Lafayette, LA
#34

Kaskaskia College

Centralia, IL
#35

Lincoln Land Community College

Springfield, IL
#36

Highland Community College

Highland, KS
#39

Mid-State Technical College

Wisconsin Rapids, WI
#42

Front Range Community College

Westminster, CO
#46

Western Technical College

La Crosse, WI
#48

Southwestern Illinois College

Belleville, IL
#49

New Age Training

New York, NY

Additional Award Winners

This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 576 different United States practical nursing and nursing assistants schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Oakton Community College Des Plaines, IL
51 Washburn Institute of Technology Topeka, KS
53 Butler Tech - D Russel Lee Career Center Hamilton, OH
54 Snow College Ephraim, UT
55 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills, IL
55 Arkansas State University Three Rivers Malvern, AR
57 Coastal Pines Technical College Waycross, GA
58 Neosho County Community College Chanute, KS
58 Central Georgia Technical College Warner Robins, GA
60 Apollo Career Center Lima, OH
61 College of the Sequoias Visalia, CA
62 Uintah Basin Technical College Roosevelt, UT
63 Saint Paul College Saint Paul, MN
64 John A Logan College Carterville, IL
65 McHenry County College Crystal Lake, IL
66 Southern Regional Technical College Thomasville, GA
67 Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College Bowling Green, KY
68 Salina Area Technical College Salina, KS
69 Illinois Valley Community College Oglesby, IL
70 Truckee Meadows Community College Reno, NV
71 Dodge City Community College Dodge City, KS
71 Somerset Community College Somerset, KY
73 Pueblo Community College Pueblo, CO
73 Healthcare Career College Paramount, CA
75 Parkland College Champaign, IL
76 Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN
77 RGV Careers Pharr, TX
78 Arlington Career Institute Grand Prairie, TX
79 North Central Kansas Technical College Beloit, KS
79 Lakeshore Technical College Cleveland, WI
79 Davidson County Community College Thomasville, NC
79 Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge, IA
79 University of Arkansas Community College - Morrilton Morrilton, AR
84 Rock Valley College Rockford, IL
85 Central New Mexico Community College Albuquerque, NM
86 Fort Scott Community College Fort Scott, KS

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
87 Anoka Technical College Anoka, MN
88 Ogden-Weber Technical College Ogden, UT
89 Orange Technical College - Winter Park Campus Winter Park, FL
90 Hopkinsville Community College Hopkinsville, KY
91 Hazard Community and Technical College Hazard, KY
92 Emily Griffith Technical College Denver, CO
93 Cowley County Community College Arkansas City, KS
93 Colorado Mountain College Glenwood Springs, CO
95 Garden City Community College Garden City, KS
96 West Georgia Technical College Waco, GA
96 Orange Technical College - Orlando Campus Orlando, FL
98 Prairie State College Chicago Heights, IL
99 Aims Community College Greeley, CO
100 Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County Newark, OH
100 Highland Community College Freeport, IL
102 North Iowa Area Community College Mason City, IA
103 Chattahoochee Technical College Marietta, GA
103 Sauk Valley Community College Dixon, IL
103 Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO
103 Inver Hills Community College Inver Grove Heights, MN
103 Yavapai College Prescott, AZ
108 Community College of Denver Denver, CO
109 Tulsa Technology Center Tulsa, OK
110 Pratt Community College Pratt, KS
110 Western Nevada College Carson City, NV
112 Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA
113 Kiamichi Technology Center-McAlester McAlester, OK
113 College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL
115 Elizabethtown Community and Technical College Elizabethtown, KY
115 Glendale Community College Glendale, AZ

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants by Region

View the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate 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.

  • 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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