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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

25 Colleges
$4,549 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Washington with 3,851 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. 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.

The Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 25 schools in Washington to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

#1

Bellevue College

Bellevue, WA

Our analysis found Bellevue College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Washington. BC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Bellevue.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at BC are $4,057 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at BC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $18,995.

BC also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

#2

Highline College

Des Moines, WA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Highline College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Des Moines, Highline is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Highline are $4,344 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Highline take out while working on their Associate Degree is $17,371.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Highline is ranked #1 for overall quality for nursing in Washington.

Read full report on Nursing at Highline College

The excellent associate degree programs at Everett Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Washington. Located in the medium-sized city of Everett, Everett Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Everett Community College are $4,062 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Everett Community College carry an average student debtload of $18,827.

Full Nursing at Everett Community College Report

Out of the 25 schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Shoreline Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Shoreline Community College is a small public school located in the suburb of Shoreline.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Shoreline Community College are $4,166 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Shoreline Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,705.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Shoreline Community College also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Nursing at Shoreline Community College Report

#5

Seattle Central College

Seattle, WA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Seattle Central College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Seattle Central is a small public school located in the city of Seattle.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Seattle Central are $4,670 per year. Nursing majors at Seattle Central take out an average of $23,418 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Seattle Central did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington list.

Full Nursing at Seattle Central College Report

Spokane Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Spokane Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Spokane.

Spokane Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,826 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Spokane Community College carry an average student debtload of $23,946.

Read full report on Nursing at Spokane Community College

#7

Centralia College

Centralia, WA

With a ranking of #7, Centralia College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Centralia College is a small public school located in the town of Centralia.

Centralia College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,770 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Centralia College take out an average of $12,250 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Centralia College also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington rankings.

Read full report on Nursing at Centralia College

#8

Wenatchee Valley College

Wenatchee, WA

Wenatchee Valley College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington ranking. Located in the city of Wenatchee, WVC is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WVC are $4,320 a year. Nursing majors at WVC take out an average of $20,904 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#9

Lower Columbia College

Longview, WA

Lower Columbia College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington ranking. LCC is a small public school located in the city of Longview.

LCC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,182 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at LCC take out an average of $21,451 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Lower Columbia College

#10

Olympic College

Bremerton, WA

Olympic 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. OC is a small public school located in the small city of Bremerton.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at OC are $4,101 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at OC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $21,970.

Read full report on Nursing at Olympic College

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
California 18,329
Nevada 2,015
Alaska 177
Hawaii 535
Oregon 1,502

Nursing Concentrations

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

Majors Similar 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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