Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

93 Colleges
$64,114 Avg Salary
$22,124 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2021-2022, 319,502 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.

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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 93 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which bachelor's 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 Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 15% Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Samuel Merritt University the best school in the Far Western US Region for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Samuel Merritt University carry an average student debtload of $20,444. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $601, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

#2

Stanbridge University

Irvine, CA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Stanbridge University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the large city of Irvine, Stanbridge is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Stanbridge take out $31,470 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Stanbridge University

#3

Pacific College

Costa Mesa, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Pacific College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Costa Mesa, Pacific College is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Pacific College

#6

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Loma Linda.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Loma Linda University carry an average student debtload of $25,098. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $383, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Loma Linda University Report

West Coast University - Orange County ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Anaheim.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at West Coast University - Orange County take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $31,215. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $742, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

West Coast University - Ontario ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Ontario, West Coast University - Ontario is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Nursing majors at West Coast University - Ontario take out an average of $31,215 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $742, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at West Coast University - Ontario Report

#9

West Coast University - Los Angeles

North Hollywood, CA

West Coast University - Los Angeles came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the city of North Hollywood, West Coast University - Los Angeles is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at West Coast University - Los Angeles take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $31,215. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $742, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of San Mateo.

Full Nursing at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts Report

California State University - Monterey Bay ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the midsize suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at CSUMB accumulate an average of around $7,530 in student debt.

Read More…

#12

Bushnell University

Eugene, OR

Bushnell University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Eugene, Bushnell University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Bushnell University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $18,372.

Full Nursing at Bushnell University Report

With a ranking of #13, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. UCLA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region award.

Rank College Location
14 California State University - Dominguez Hills Carson, CA
15 American University of Health Sciences Signal Hill, CA
16 Oregon Health & Science University Portland, OR
17 Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA
18 Unitek College Fremont, CA

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 3,851
California 18,329
Nevada 2,015
Alaska 177
Hawaii 535
Oregon 1,502

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 262,974
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,647
Nursing Practice 8,862
Nursing Administration 8,663
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 4,717
Nursing Science 4,701
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,895
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,075
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 2,011
Nurse Anesthetist 1,768
Critical Care Nursing 747
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 622
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 567
School Nursing 539
Clinical Nurse Leader 502
Clinical Nurse Specialist 340
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 269
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 262
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 192
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 87
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 26
Forensic Nursing 23
Palliative Care Nursing 13

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339

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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free matching tool for schools matches students with nursing schools across the U.S.