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Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in California

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2023 Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in California

76 Colleges
$40,752 Avg Salary
$17,707 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants School for You

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants is the #14 most popular major in California with 1,055 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's healthcare students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 76 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for healthcare students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in California

Check out the practical nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools

#1

Unitek College

South San Francisco, CA

Our analysis found Unitek College to be the best school for practical nursing and nursing assistants students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the small city of South San Francisco, Unitek College is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Unitek College accumulate an average of around $17,305 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $217.

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#2

Unitek College

Hayward, CA

The excellent programs at Unitek College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best practical nursing and nursing assistants schools in California. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Unitek College is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Unitek College accumulate an average of around $17,305 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $217.

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

The excellent programs at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best practical nursing and nursing assistants schools in California. Located in the medium-sized city of San Mateo, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Practical Nursing majors at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts take out an average of $17,317 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $152, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#4

Blake Austin College

Vacaville, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Blake Austin College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Vacaville, Blake Austin College is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Practical Nursing majors at Blake Austin College take out an average of $17,900 in student loans while working on their egree.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Xavier College School of Nursing. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in California list. Xavier College School of Nursing is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Stockton.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Xavier College School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $16,757 in student debt.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Xavier College School of Nursing Report

#6

Unitek College

Fremont, CA

With a ranking of #6, Unitek College did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. Located in the large suburb of Fremont, Unitek College is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that practical nursing majors at Unitek College take out is $19,020. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $207.

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With a ranking of #7, Marian College School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. Located in the city of Van Nuys, Marian College Van Nuys is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Marian College Van Nuys accumulate an average of around $13,797 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $160.

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#8

Homestead Schools

Torrance, CA

Homestead Schools did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. It came in at #8 on the list. Homestead Schools is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Torrance.

After completing their degree, practical nursing graduates from Homestead Schools carry an average student debtload of $18,040.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Homestead Schools Report

Marian College School of Nursing came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Marian College Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that practical nursing majors at Marian College Los Angeles take out is $13,797. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $160.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Marian College School of Nursing Report

#10

Stanbridge University

Irvine, CA

Stanbridge University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Stanbridge is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Stanbridge accumulate an average of around $20,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $176, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Stanbridge University

Career Development Institute Inc did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Career Development Institute Inc is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, practical nursing majors at Career Development Institute Inc accumulate an average of around $16,873 in student debt.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Career Development Institute Inc

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
12 California Career Institute Garden Grove, CA
13 Pacific College Costa Mesa, CA
14 American Career College - Ontario Ontario, CA
15 CES College Burbank, CA

Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 113
Nevada 0

One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, practical nursing and nursing assistants has other similar majors worth exploring.

Practical Nursing Concentrations

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

Majors Similar to Practical Nursing

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.

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