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2023 Best Nursing Schools in New York

100 Colleges
$82,668 Avg Salary
$25,552 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in New York with 17,708 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Schools in New York to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 100 schools in New York to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in New York

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best Nursing Schools

Our analysis found Albany Medical College to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in New York. Located in the small city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Helene Fuld College of Nursing is a great place for nursing students. HFCN is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at HFCN accumulate an average of around $33,485 in student debt.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Arnot Ogden Medical Center is a great place for nursing students. Located in the small city of Elmira, Arnot Ogden Medical Center is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Arnot Ogden Medical Center

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from SUNY Downstate take out $21,875 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Cochran School of Nursing. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Located in the suburb of Yonkers, Cochran School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Cochran School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $26,219.

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#6

Excelsior College

Albany, NY

Excelsior College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Located in the small city of Albany, Excelsior College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Excelsior College carry an average student debtload of $23,176.

Full Nursing at Excelsior College Report

With a ranking of #7, St. Joseph’s College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Syracuse, St Joseph's College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from St Joseph's College of Nursing take out $20,751 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $380.

Full Nursing at St. Joseph’s College of Nursing Report

The Graduate Center, CUNY ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Located in the large city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at The Graduate Center accumulate an average of around $17,170 in student debt.

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St Paul’s School of Nursing - Queens landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the large city of Rego Park, St Paul's School of Nursing - Queens is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at St Paul's School of Nursing - Queens take out is $30,500. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $191.

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#10

Wagner College

Staten Island, NY

Wagner College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Wagner is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Staten Island.

On average, nursing graduates from Wagner take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $495.

Read full report on Nursing at Wagner College

#11

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in New York ranking. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Nursing majors at NYU take out an average of $25,380 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $732, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at New York University Report

#12

Molloy College

Rockville Centre, NY

Molloy College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Molloy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Rockville Centre.

Nursing majors at Molloy take out an average of $31,934 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $365.

Full Nursing at Molloy College Report

St. Peter’s Hospital College of Nursing ranked #13 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. St. Peter's Hospital College of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Albany.

Nursing majors at St. Peter's Hospital College of Nursing take out an average of $26,399 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the small city of Troy, Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing take out an average of $27,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#15

Adelphi University

Garden City, NY

Adelphi University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Garden City, Adelphi is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Adelphi take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $475.

Read full report on Nursing at Adelphi University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the state of New York that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools in New York award.

Rank College Location
16 Upstate Medical University Syracuse, NY
17 Bronx Community College Bronx, NY
18 Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY
19 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
20 University of Rochester Rochester, NY

Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 11,477
New Jersey 5,648
Maryland 4,104
Delaware 1,267
District of Columbia 990

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

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.

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