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2023 Best Nursing Schools in New York

100 Colleges
$82,668 Avg Salary
$25,664 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in New York. In total, 17,708 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in New York.

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 2023 rankings named Albany Medical College the best school in New York for nursing students. Located in the city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at AMC Albany take out is $60,919.

Full Nursing at Albany Medical College Report

Out of the 100 schools in New York that were part of this year’s ranking, Helene Fuld College of Nursing landed the # 2 spot on the list. HFCN is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

On average, nursing graduates from HFCN take out $15,250 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

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

Read full report on Nursing at Arnot Ogden Medical Center

Out of the 100 schools in New York that were part of this year’s ranking, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate is a public college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from SUNY Downstate take out $19,463 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Report

Out of the 100 schools in New York that were part of this year’s ranking, Cochran School of Nursing landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Yonkers, Cochran School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Cochran School of Nursing take out is $19,914.

Read More…

#6

Excelsior University

Albany, NY

With a ranking of #6, Excelsior University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the small city of Albany, Excelsior University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Excelsior University take out $19,436 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Excelsior University

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

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at St Joseph's College of Nursing take out is $12,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $487, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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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 school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at The Graduate Center take out is $8,000.

Full Nursing at The Graduate Center, CUNY Report

St Paul’s School of Nursing - Queens ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Located in the city of Rego Park, St Paul's School of Nursing - Queens is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from St Paul's School of Nursing - Queens carry an average student debtload of $26,125.

Read full report on Nursing at St Paul’s School of Nursing - Queens

#10

Wagner College

Staten Island, NY

With a ranking of #10, Wagner College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Wagner is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Staten Island.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Wagner take out is $37,183. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $801.

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#11

New York University

New York, NY

With a ranking of #11, New York University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at NYU take out is $42,892. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $866.

Read full report on Nursing at New York University

#12

Molloy College

Rockville Centre, NY

Molloy College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Molloy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Rockville Centre.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Molloy accumulate an average of around $37,125 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $437, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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St. Peter’s Hospital College of Nursing landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. St. Peter's Hospital College of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Albany.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at St. Peter's Hospital College of Nursing accumulate an average of around $14,750 in student debt.

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Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing ranked #14 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in New York list. Located in the small city of Troy, Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing take out an average of $17,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#15

Adelphi University

Garden City, NY

With a ranking of #15, Adelphi University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of Garden City, Adelphi is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Nursing majors at Adelphi take out an average of $39,490 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $517.

Read More…

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 Schools 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 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

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.

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