2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California
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 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 93 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular associate degree programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 15% Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Fresno City College the most popular school in California for nursing students working on their associate degree. Fresno City College is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.
Of the 202 students majoring in nursing at Fresno City College, 22% are male and 78% are female.
On average, nursing graduates from Fresno City College take out $11,400 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Riverside City College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public college with a large student population.
Women make up 76% of the nursing majors at the school.
On average, nursing graduates from Riverside City College take out $15,050 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bakersfield College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Bakersfield, Bakersfield College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 78% of the nursing majors at the school.
On average, nursing graduates from Bakersfield College take out $14,858 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means San Joaquin Delta College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Delta is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Stockton.
Of the 123 students majoring in nursing at Delta, 32% are male and 68% are female.
On average, nursing graduates from Delta take out $15,248 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Butte College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Butte College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Oroville.
Of the 113 students majoring in nursing at Butte College, 24% are male and 76% are female.
On average, nursing graduates from Butte College take out $19,826 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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With a ranking of #6, Modesto Junior College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Modesto, MJC is a public school with a large student population.
Women make up 78% of the nursing majors at the school.
Nursing majors at MJC take out an average of $16,015 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Career Networks Institute did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. CNI College is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Orange.
Of the 111 students majoring in nursing at CNI College, 27% are male and 73% are female.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from CNI College carry an average student debt load of $33,332.
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Mt. San Antonio College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of Walnut, Mt. SAC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 69% of the nursing majors at the school.
While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Mt. SAC accumulate an average of around $16,459 in student debt.
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Santa Monica College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #9 on the list. SMC is a very large public school located in the city of Santa Monica.
Of the 106 students majoring in nursing at SMC, 25% are male and 75% are female.
On average, nursing graduates from SMC take out $16,693 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Antelope Valley College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Lancaster, Antelope Valley College is a public school with a large student population.
Of the 102 students majoring in nursing at Antelope Valley College, 16% are male and 84% are female.
Nursing majors at Antelope Valley College take out an average of $15,472 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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San Bernardino Valley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. San Bernardino Valley College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.
Of the 99 students majoring in nursing at San Bernardino Valley College, 16% are male and 84% are female.
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Pacific Union College ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the rural area of Angwin, PUC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Women make up 74% of the nursing majors at the school.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from PUC carry an average student debt load of $29,980. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $222, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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With a ranking of #13, Solano Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Fairfield, Solano College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Women make up 83% of the nursing majors at the school.
On average, nursing graduates from Solano College take out $14,561 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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College of the Sequoias landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. College of the Sequoias is a large public school located in the midsize city of Visalia.
Of the 89 students majoring in nursing at College of the Sequoias, 22% are male and 78% are female.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from College of the Sequoias carry an average student debt load of $15,483.
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Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in California award.
Rank | College | Location |
---|---|---|
15 | Saddleback College | Mission Viejo, CA |
16 | Glendale Community College | Glendale, CA |
17 | Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts | San Mateo, CA |
18 | Golden West College | Huntington Beach, CA |
Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Most Popular 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 |
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.