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Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

4 Colleges
$1,285 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,486 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Undergraduate Certificate 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 4 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value undergraduate certificate 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.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for an Award Taking 1 to 4 Years in Nursing

Our 2023 rankings named Glendale Community College the best value school in California for nursing students working on their undergraduate certificate. GCC is a large public school located in the city of Glendale.

GCC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,171 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from GCC take out $22,175 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

GCC also took the #1 spot in our Best Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California rankings.

Full Nursing at Glendale Community College Report

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#2

Saddleback College

Mission Viejo, CA

Out of the 4 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Saddleback College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Saddleback College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Mission Viejo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Saddleback College are $1,332 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Saddleback College is ranked #5 for overall quality for nursing in California.

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#3

Victor Valley College

Victorville, CA

Out of the 4 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Victor Valley College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Victorville, Victor Valley College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Victor Valley College are $1,424 per year.

Full Nursing at Victor Valley College Report

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#4

Pasadena City College

Pasadena, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pasadena City College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. Pasadena City College is a very large public school located in the city of Pasadena.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pasadena City College are $1,212 per year.

Full Nursing at Pasadena City College Report

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Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges 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

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 4 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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