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Best Value Nursing Schools in Connecticut

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Connecticut

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

20 Colleges
$20,744 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$87,747 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Connecticut with 3,058 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

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. 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 Value Nursing Schools in Connecticut to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in Connecticut to see which 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.

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.

2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Connecticut

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

#1

Gateway Community College

New Haven, CT
$4,496 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Gateway Community College the best value school in Connecticut for nursing students. Gateway Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of New Haven.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gateway Community College are $4,496 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Gateway Community College take out is $13,330.

Gateway Community College also made our Best Nursing Schools in Connecticut list, coming in at #4.

Read full report on Nursing at Gateway Community College

$4,596 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Capital Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Connecticut list. Located in the midsize city of Hartford, Capital Community College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Capital Community College are $4,596 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Capital Community College take out $16,847 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

The excellent programs at Naugatuck Valley Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Connecticut. Naugatuck Valley Community College is a small public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Waterbury.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Naugatuck Valley Community College are $4,516 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Naugatuck Valley Community College accumulate an average of around $13,175 in student debt.

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$4,586 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Norwalk Community College is a great value for nursing students. Located in the city of Norwalk, NCC is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NCC are $4,586 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from NCC carry an average student debtload of $16,624.

Read full report on Nursing at Norwalk Community College

$4,596 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 20 schools in Connecticut that were part of this year’s ranking, Three Rivers Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Three Rivers Community College is a small public school located in the small city of Norwich.

Three Rivers Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,596 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Three Rivers Community College take out is $14,046.

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$4,556 Average Tuition & Fees

Northwestern Connecticut Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. NCCC is a small public school located in the fringe town of Winsted.

NCCC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,556 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at NCCC take out an average of $11,795 in student loans while working on their egree.

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$10,520 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, American Sentinel University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. American Sentinel University is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Aurora.

American Sentinel University undergraduate students pay an average of $10,520 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at American Sentinel University accumulate an average of around $24,075 in student debt.

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#8

Charter Oak State College

New Britain, CT
$8,254 Average Tuition & Fees

Charter Oak State College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. Charter Oak State College is a small public school located in the large suburb of New Britain.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Charter Oak State College are $8,254 per year.

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$11,542 Average Tuition & Fees

Central Connecticut State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the suburb of New Britain, CCSU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

CCSU undergraduate students pay an average of $11,542 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CCSU take out is $26,500.

Read full report on Nursing at Central Connecticut State University

$11,781 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Connecticut State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. WestConn is a small public school located in the city of Danbury.

WestConn undergraduate students pay an average of $11,781 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from WestConn take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Western Connecticut State University

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Hampshire 2,129
Massachusetts 6,626
Vermont 390
Maine 1,262
Rhode Island 1,091

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 20 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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