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Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

22 Colleges
$9,104 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,121 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree School for You

In 2021-2022, 85,339 practical nursing & nursing assistants students received a degree or certificate, 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.

The Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for practical nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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.

2023 Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Check out the practical nursing associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools

#1

Merced College

Merced, CA

Our analysis found Merced College to be the best value school for practical nursing & nursing assistants students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the small city of Merced, Merced Community College District is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Merced Community College District are $7,890 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Merced Community College District is ranked #2 for overall quality for practical nursing in the Far Western US Region .

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Merced College

#2

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

Out of the 22 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Cuesta College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cuesta College are $9,348 a year.

Cuesta College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Cuesta College

#3

Imperial Valley College

Imperial, CA

Out of the 22 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Imperial Valley College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Imperial, IVC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

IVC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,646 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Imperial Valley College

#4

Butte College

Oroville, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Butte College is a great value for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Butte College are $7,816 per year. Practical Nursing majors at Butte College take out an average of $12,426 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Butte College also did well on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#5

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, CA

Out of the 22 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Santa Barbara City College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Santa Barbara, SBCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

SBCC undergraduate students pay an average of $9,322 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, SBCC is ranked #4 for overall quality for practical nursing in the Far Western US Region .

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Santa Barbara City College

Napa Valley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing & nursing assistants students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Napa Valley College is a small public school located in the small city of Napa.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Napa Valley College are $9,388 a year.

Napa Valley College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Napa Valley College

College of the Redwoods did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing & nursing assistants students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. College of the Redwoods is a small public school located in the rural area of Eureka.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at College of the Redwoods are $8,131 per year.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at College of the Redwoods Report

#8

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA

Riverside City College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Riverside City College is a large public school located in the city of Riverside.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Riverside City College are $10,000 per year.

Read More…

#9

Sacramento City College

Sacramento, CA

Sacramento City College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sacramento City is a public school with a large student population.

Sacramento City undergraduate students pay an average of $10,768 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Sacramento City College

#10

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, CA

With a ranking of #10, Santa Rosa Junior College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

SRJC undergraduate students pay an average of $9,310 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, SRJC also is in the top 15% of our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking.

Read More…

Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges by State

Explore the best practical nursing & nursing assistants colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 649
California 8,037
Oregon 409
Nevada 622
Alaska 22
Hawaii 96

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 22 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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