2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 39,944 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. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 99 schools in the Southwest Region 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.
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.
Top 15% Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found New Mexico Junior College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Southwest Region . New Mexico Junior College is a small public school located in the remote town of Hobbs.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at New Mexico Junior College are $2,280 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at New Mexico Junior College accumulate an average of around $19,434 in student debt.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Clovis Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Clovis Community College is a small public school located in the remote town of Clovis.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clovis Community College are $2,984 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Clovis Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $13,864.
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Out of the 99 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Arizona College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Coolidge, Pinal County Community College is a public school with a small student population.
Pinal County Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,160 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Pinal County Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,049.
Pinal County Community College also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, coming in at #2.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Panola College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the distant town of Carthage, Panola College is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Panola College are $4,680 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Panola College also is in the top 10% of our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Amarillo College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Amarillo College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Amarillo.
Amarillo College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,704 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Amarillo College take out an average of $22,468 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
In addition to its great value ranking, Amarillo College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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With a ranking of #6, College of the Mainland did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. COM is a small public school located in the suburb of Texas City.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at COM are $3,873 per year. On average, nursing graduates from COM take out $24,607 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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South Plains College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Located in the town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
South Plains College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,276 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from South Plains College carry an average student debtload of $19,364.
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Alvin Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Alvin is a small public school located in the suburb of Alvin.
Alvin undergraduate students pay an average of $4,010 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Alvin take out an average of $18,713 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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With a ranking of #9, New Mexico State University - Carlsbad did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. NMSU Carlsbad is a small public school located in the rural area of Carlsbad.
NMSU Carlsbad undergraduate students pay an average of $4,008 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at NMSU Carlsbad take out an average of $21,758 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Tyler Junior College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the city of Tyler, Tyler Junior College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tyler Junior College are $4,440 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Tyler Junior College accumulate an average of around $20,409 in student debt.
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Clarendon College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Clarendon College is a small public school located in the rural area of Clarendon.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Clarendon College are $4,176 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Clarendon College carry an average student debtload of $22,830.
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Lee College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Located in the small city of Baytown, Lee College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lee College are $4,302 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Lee College take out $21,135 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Wharton County Junior College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Located in the town of Wharton, Wharton County Junior College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Wharton County Junior College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,872 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Wharton County Junior College take out an average of $16,606 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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San Jacinto Community College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the large suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jacinto College are $5,040 per year. On average, nursing graduates from San Jacinto College take out $17,670 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, San Jacinto College also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | El Centro College | Dallas, TX |
| 16 | Collin County Community College District | McKinney, TX |
| 17 | Northeast Texas Community College | Mount Pleasant, TX |
| 18 | Lone Star College System | The Woodlands, TX |
| 19 | Houston Community College | Houston, TX |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 12,966 |
| Texas | 21,862 |
| New Mexico | 1,390 |
| Oklahoma | 3,009 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Southwest Region
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
Nursing Concentrations
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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