Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools

396 Colleges

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

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants is the #21 most popular major in the country with 84,274 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 396 schools in the United States to see which basic certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

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

#1

Best Care College

East Orange, NJ

Our 2023 rankings named Best Care College the best school in the United States for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large suburb of East Orange, Best Care College is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Read More…

Request Information
#2

Polytech Adult Education

Woodside, DE

Out of the 396 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Polytech Adult Education landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Woodside, Polytech Adult Education is a public school with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Polytech Adult Education

Request Information
#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 Schools list. Access Careers is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Hempstead.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Access Careers Report

Request Information
#4

Texas Health School

Houston, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Texas Health School. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. Texas Health School is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.

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

Request Information
#5

Dixie Technical College

Saint George, UT

Out of the 396 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Dixie Technical College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Saint George, Dixie Tech is a public school with a small student population.

Read More…

Request Information

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

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

Request Information

Moraine Park Technical College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Moraine Park Technical College is a small public school located in the small city of Fond du Lac.

Read More…

Request Information

With a ranking of #8, Miami Valley Career Technology Center did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Miami Valley CTC is a small public school located in the suburb of Englewood.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Miami Valley Career Technology Center Report

Request Information

Washburn Institute of Technology landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Topeka, Washburn Tech is a public school with a small student population.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Washburn Institute of Technology

Request Information

Career Center of Southern Illinois did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the rural area of Red Bud, Beck School of Practical Nursing is a public college with a fairly small student population.

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

Request Information
#11

Cape Coral Technical College

Cape Coral, FL

Cape Coral Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Cape Coral, Cape Coral Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Cape Coral Technical College Report

Request Information

Fox Valley Technical College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. FVTC is a large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Appleton.

Read More…

Request Information
#13

Suncoast Technical College

Sarasota, FL

Suncoast Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #13 on the list. Suncoast Technical College is a small public school located in the suburb of Sarasota.

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

Request Information

North Florida Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #14 on the list. North Florida Technical College is a small public school located in the distant town of Starke.

Read More…

Request Information
#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 and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #15 on the list. Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Ivy Tech Community College

Request Information
#16

Oakton Community College

Des Plaines, IL

Oakton Community College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Des Plaines, Oakton Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Read More…

Request Information

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

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

Request Information

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

Read More…

Request Information
#19

Blackhawk Technical College

Janesville, WI

Blackhawk Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #19 on the list. BTC is a small public school located in the small suburb of Janesville.

Read More…

Request Information

Red Rocks Community College landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Red Rocks Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Lakewood.

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

Request Information

Autry Technology Center did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #21 on the list. Autry Technology Center is a fairly small public school located in the remote town of Enid.

Read More…

Request Information
#22

Apollo Career Center

Lima, OH

Apollo Career Center ranked #22 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. Apollo JVS is a small public school located in the small suburb of Lima.

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

Request Information

With a ranking of #23, Jefferson Community and Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing and 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

Request Information

With a ranking of #24, William Rainey Harper College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their basic certificate. Harper College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Palatine.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at William Rainey Harper College

Request Information
#25

College of Lake County

Grayslake, IL

College of Lake County ranked #25 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Grayslake, College of Lake County is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

Request Information

Rest of the Top Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate 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
#36

California Career Institute

Garden Grove, CA
#40

State Career College

Waukegan, 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 remainder of the schools awarded a Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 396 different United States practical nursing and 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

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Basic Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
60 Kansas City Kansas Community College Kansas City, KS
61 Kaskaskia College Centralia, IL
62 Stone Academy-Waterbury Waterbury, CT
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 Wilmington, 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 Stone Academy-West Haven West Haven, CT
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 Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants is one of 30 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.

Practical Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training 44,900
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide 34,557
Other Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants 4,817

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596

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.

Find Healthcare Schools Near You

Our free school-matching tool matches students with accredited healthcare schools across the U.S