2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in California. In total, 18,329 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in California.
There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 69 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found Merced College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in California. Merced Community College District is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Merced.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Merced Community College District are $1,180 per year. Nursing majors at Merced Community College District take out an average of $12,152 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Merced Community College District also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #1.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Modesto Junior College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Modesto, MJC is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at MJC are $1,274 a year. On average, nursing graduates from MJC take out $16,015 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
MJC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Butte College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in California. Butte College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Oroville.
Butte College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,368 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Butte College take out an average of $19,826 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Butte College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list.
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The excellent associate degree programs at San Joaquin Delta College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in California. Delta is a fairly large public school located in the city of Stockton.
Delta undergraduate students pay an average of $1,288 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Delta carry an average student debtload of $15,248.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Delta also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Cabrillo College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in California. Located in the midsize suburb of Aptos, Cabrillo College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cabrillo College are $1,262 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cabrillo College also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Cuesta College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Cuesta College is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cuesta College are $1,338 per year. Nursing majors at Cuesta College take out an average of $14,937 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cuesta College also is in the top 15% of our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking.
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West Hills College-Lemoore came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. West Hills College-Lemoore is a small public school located in the rural area of Lemoore.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at West Hills College-Lemoore are $1,380 a year. On average, nursing graduates from West Hills College-Lemoore take out $15,061 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, West Hills College-Lemoore also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Yuba College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of Marysville, Yuba College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Yuba College are $1,128 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Yuba College carry an average student debtload of $11,836.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Yuba College also is in the top 15% of our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking.
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Santa Rosa Junior College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. SRJC is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa.
SRJC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,328 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from SRJC take out $16,223 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, SRJC also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Sacramento City College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Sacramento City is a large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
Nursing majors at Sacramento City take out an average of $13,621 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing students in the state of California seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Santa Barbara City College | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 12 | Ventura College | Ventura, CA |
| 13 | Mt. San Antonio College | Walnut, CA |
Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 3,851 |
| Nevada | 2,015 |
| Alaska | 177 |
| Hawaii | 535 |
| Oregon | 1,502 |
More Nursing Rankings in California
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing Focus Areas
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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