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Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region

145 Colleges
$35,909 Avg Salary
$13,948 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 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. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 145 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones were the most popular programs 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.

Check out the practical nursing programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the Southwest Region .

Our analysis found Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio to be the most popular school for practical nursing and nursing assistants students who want to pursue a degree in the Southwest Region . Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Antonio.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio accumulate an average of around $16,353 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $107, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#2

RGV Careers

Pharr, TX

Out of the 145 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, RGV Careers landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Pharr, RGV Careers is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, practical nursing graduates from RGV Careers carry an average student debt load of $9,500.

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Out of the 145 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, GateWay Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. GateWay Community College is a small public school located in the city of Phoenix.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at GateWay Community College accumulate an average of around $13,728 in student debt.

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#4

South Texas College

McAllen, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South Texas College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of McAllen, South Texas College is a public school with a very large student population.

Practical Nursing majors at South Texas College take out an average of $6,625 in student loans while working on their egree.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kiamichi Technology Center-McAlester. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region list. KTC McAlester is a fairly small public school located in the town of McAlester.

The average amount in student loans that practical nursing majors at KTC McAlester take out is $9,500.

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Tulsa Technology Center came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Tulsa Tech is a small public school located in the city of Tulsa.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Tulsa Tech accumulate an average of around $10,919 in student debt.

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Concorde Career College - Grand Prairie came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Concorde Career College - Grand Prairie is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Grand Prairie.

On average, practical nursing graduates from Concorde Career College - Grand Prairie take out $20,875 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#8

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

With a ranking of #8, Tyler Junior College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. Located in the city of Tyler, Tyler Junior College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that practical nursing majors at Tyler Junior College take out is $12,883.

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Northeast Technology Center-System Office did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the town of Pryor, Northeast Technology Center-System Office is a public school with a small student population.

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#10

Francis Tuttle Technology Center

Oklahoma City, OK

With a ranking of #10, Francis Tuttle Technology Center did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. Located in the large city of Oklahoma City, Francis Tuttle Technology Center is a public college with a small student population.

Practical Nursing majors at Francis Tuttle Technology Center take out an average of $18,181 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Southwest Texas Junior College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the remote town of Uvalde, Southwest Texas Junior College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Practical Nursing majors at Southwest Texas Junior College take out an average of $9,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#12

Arlington Career Institute

Grand Prairie, TX

Arlington Career Institute ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large suburb of Grand Prairie, Arlington Career Institute is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

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#13

Coconino Community College

Flagstaff, AZ

Coconino Community College ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region list. Coconino Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Flagstaff.

After completing their degree, practical nursing graduates from Coconino Community College carry an average student debt load of $18,891.

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Central New Mexico Community College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Located in the large city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at CNM accumulate an average of around $8,250 in student debt.

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#15

Glendale Community College

Glendale, AZ

Glendale Community College landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Located in the large suburb of Glendale, Glendale Community College is a public college with a large student population.

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Indian Capital Technology Center, Muskogee ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region list. Indian Capital Technology Center, Muskogee is a small public school located in the rural area of Muskogee.

Practical Nursing majors at Indian Capital Technology Center, Muskogee take out an average of $13,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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El Paso Community College ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of El Paso, El Paso Community College is a public school with a very large student population.

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#18

Yavapai College

Prescott, AZ

Yavapai College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Yavapai College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Prescott.

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Canadian Valley Technology Center did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. It came in at #19 on the list. Canadian Valley Technology Center is a small public school located in the rural area of El Reno.

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Mesa Community College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the city of Mesa, Mesa Community College is a public school with a large student population.

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Moore Norman Technology Center landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Located in the rural area of Norman, MNTC is a public school with a small student population.

Practical Nursing majors at MNTC take out an average of $13,588 in student loans while working on their egree.

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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 Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
22 North Central Texas College Gainesville, TX
23 Texas Health School Houston, TX
24 San Jacinto Community College Pasadena, TX
25 Del Mar College Corpus Christi, TX
26 Lamar State College - Orange Orange, TX
27 St Philip’s College San Antonio, TX
28 Pima Medical Institute - East Valley Mesa, AZ
29 Metro Technology Centers Oklahoma City, OK

Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges by State

Explore the best practical nursing and nursing assistants colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 57
Texas 97
New Mexico 0
Oklahoma 57

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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