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Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region

2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

40 Colleges
$8,447 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate 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 Basic Certificate 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. This report analyzed 40 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate programs for practical nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for practical nursing majors pursuing a basic certificate.

Top 10 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools

#1

Centralia College

Centralia, WA

Our analysis found Centralia College to be the best value school for practical nursing & nursing assistants students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Far Western US Region . Centralia College is a small public school located in the town of Centralia.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Centralia College are $5,381 a year.

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#2

Merced College

Merced, CA

Out of the 40 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Merced College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the 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 #3 for overall quality for practical nursing in the Far Western US Region .

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

#3

Butte College

Oroville, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Butte College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Butte College are $7,816 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Butte College also is in the top 10% of our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Butte College Report

#4

Big Bend Community College

Moses Lake, WA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Big Bend Community College is a great value for practical nursing & nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Big Bend Community College is a small public school located in the town of Moses Lake.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Big Bend Community College are $5,234 a year.

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#5

College of the Sequoias

Visalia, CA

The excellent basic certificate programs at College of the Sequoias helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value practical nursing & nursing assistants schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the midsize city of Visalia, College of the Sequoias is a public college with a large student population.

College of the Sequoias undergraduate students pay an average of $8,338 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, College of the Sequoias is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

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Oregon Coast Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Oregon Coast Community College is a fairly small public school located in the rural area of Newport.

Oregon Coast Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,148 in tuition and fees each year.

Oregon Coast Community College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

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Bellingham Technical 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 #7 on the list. Located in the small city of Bellingham, Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute are $5,357 a year.

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

#8

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

Cuesta College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cuesta College also did well on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#9

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, CA

Santa Rosa Junior College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SRJC are $9,310 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, SRJC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Santa Rosa Junior College Report

#10

Lower Columbia College

Longview, WA

Lower Columbia College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. LCC is a small public school located in the city of Longview.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LCC are $5,514 a year.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Lower Columbia College Report

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 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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