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2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools

396 Colleges

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate School for You

In 2021-2022, 85,339 practical nursing & nursing assistants students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #2 most popular in the country.

Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 396 schools in the United States to see which basic certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for trade school students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Colleges.

Top 25 Top Trade Schools for an Award Taking Less Than 1 Year in Nursing & Nursing Assistants

#1

Best Care College

East Orange, NJ

Our analysis found Best Care College to be the best school for practical nursing & nursing assistants students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the United States. Located in the large suburb of East Orange, Best Care College is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Best Care College Report

#2

Polytech Adult Education

Woodside, DE

The excellent basic certificate programs at Polytech Adult Education helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best practical nursing & nursing assistants schools in the United States. Located in the rural area of Woodside, Polytech Adult Education is a public college with a small student population.

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#3

Access Careers

Hempstead, NY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Access Careers. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Access Careers is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Hempstead.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Access Careers Report

#4

Texas Health School

Houston, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas Health School. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Texas Health School is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Houston.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Texas Health School

#5

Dixie Technical College

Saint George, UT

The excellent basic certificate programs at Dixie Technical College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best practical nursing & nursing assistants schools in the United States. Dixie Tech is a small public school located in the city of Saint George.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Dixie Technical College

With a ranking of #6, Madison Area Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large city of Madison, Madison College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Madison Area Technical College

Moraine Park Technical College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Moraine Park Technical College is a small public school located in the city of Fond du Lac.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Moraine Park Technical College

Miami Valley Career Technology Center ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Miami Valley CTC is a small public school located in the large suburb of Englewood.

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Washburn Institute of Technology ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Topeka, Washburn Tech is a public college with a small student population.

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Career Center of Southern Illinois came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the rural area of Red Bud, Beck School of Practical Nursing is a public college with a small student population.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Career Center of Southern Illinois Report

#11

Cape Coral Technical College

Cape Coral, FL

Cape Coral Technical College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Cape Coral, Cape Coral Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Cape Coral Technical College

With a ranking of #12, Fox Valley Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. FVTC is a large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Appleton.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Fox Valley Technical College Report

#13

Suncoast Technical College

Sarasota, FL

Suncoast Technical College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate practical nursing & nursing assistants programs. Suncoast Technical College is a small public school located in the large suburb of Sarasota.

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North Florida Technical College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate practical nursing & nursing assistants programs. North Florida Technical College is a fairly small public school located in the town of Starke.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at North Florida Technical College

#15

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Ivy Tech Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing & nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #15 on the list. Ivy Tech Community College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Ivy Tech Community College Report

#16

Oakton Community College

Des Plaines, IL

With a ranking of #16, Oakton Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Located in the city of Des Plaines, Oakton Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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Orange Technical College - Orlando Campus came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. OTC Orlando is a fairly small public school located in the large city of Orlando.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Orange Technical College - Orlando Campus Report

Chippewa Valley Technical College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report

#19

Blackhawk Technical College

Janesville, WI

With a ranking of #19, Blackhawk Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. BTC is a small public school located in the suburb of Janesville.

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With a ranking of #20, Red Rocks Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Red Rocks Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Lakewood.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Red Rocks Community College

Autry Technology Center ranked #21 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Autry Technology Center is a fairly small public school located in the remote town of Enid.

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#22

Apollo Career Center

Lima, OH

Apollo Career Center came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of Lima, Apollo JVS is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Apollo Career Center

With a ranking of #23, Jefferson Community and Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Jefferson Community and Technical College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Louisville.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Jefferson Community and Technical College Report

William Rainey Harper College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Harper College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Palatine.

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#25

College of Lake County

Grayslake, IL

College of Lake County landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate practical nursing & nursing assistants programs. Located in the suburb of Grayslake, College of Lake County is a public school with a large student population.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at College of Lake County Report

Rest of the Top Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools

#30

Century College

White Bear Lake, MN
#32

Pioneer Technology Center

Ponca City, OK
#34

Butte College

Oroville, CA
#35

Merced College

Merced, CA
#40

State Career College

Gurnee, IL
#43

College of the Sequoias

Visalia, CA
#44

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, CA
#47

Centralia College

Centralia, WA
#50

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

Additional Award Winners

This section represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 396 different United States practical nursing & nursing assistants schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 North Iowa Area Community College Mason City, IA
52 Bunker Hill Community College Boston, MA
53 Marion Technical College Ocala, FL
54 Lincoln Technical Institute - Paramus Paramus, NJ
55 Infinity College Lafayette, LA
56 Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI
57 Lincoln Technical Institute - Shelton Shelton, CT
58 Bluegrass Community and Technical College Lexington, KY
59 Northeast Texas Community College Mount Pleasant, TX

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing & Nursing Assistants students that almost earned our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools award.

Rank College Location
60 Kansas City Kansas Community College Kansas City, KS
61 Kaskaskia College Centralia, IL
62 School Removed
63 GateWay Community College Phoenix, AZ
64 High Desert Medical College Lancaster, CA
65 Monroe 2 Orleans BOCES-Center for Workforce Development Rochester, NY
66 Pontotoc Technology Center Ada, OK
67 Dawn Career Institute LLC Newark, DE
68 Tri-Rivers Career Center Marion, OH
69 Western Iowa Tech Community College Sioux City, IA
70 Coastal Pines Technical College Waycross, GA
71 Oconee Fall Line Technical College Sandersville, GA
72 School Removed
73 Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College Minden, LA
74 Angeles College Los Angeles, CA
75 Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS
76 Flint Hills Technical College Emporia, KS
77 Fort Myers Technical College Fort Myers, FL
78 Central Georgia Technical College Warner Robins, GA
79 Northland Community and Technical College Thief River Falls, MN

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants by Region

View the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

One of 11 majors within the trade school area of study, practical nursing & nursing assistants has other similar majors worth exploring.

Practical Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training 45,031
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide 35,655
Other Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants 4,653

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 88,600
Allied Health Professions 83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 83,587
Health Sciences & Services 36,762
Mental & Social Health Services 30,331

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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