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Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

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2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

112 Colleges
$57,601 Avg Salary
$21,889 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 42,404 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 112 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Helene Fuld College of Nursing the best school in the Middle Atlantic Region for nursing students working on their associate degree. HFCN is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

Nursing majors at HFCN take out an average of $27,942 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Michael College of Allied Health. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Saint Michael College of Allied Health is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Alexandria.

Read full report on Nursing at Saint Michael College of Allied Health

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arnot Ogden Medical Center. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the city of Elmira, Arnot Ogden Medical Center is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Nursing at Arnot Ogden Medical Center Report

#4

Excelsior College

Albany, NY

The excellent associate degree programs at Excelsior College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Middle Atlantic Region . Located in the small city of Albany, Excelsior College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Excelsior College carry an average student debtload of $23,429.

Read full report on Nursing at Excelsior College

#5

Best Care College

East Orange, NJ

The excellent associate degree programs at Best Care College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Middle Atlantic Region . Best Care College is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of East Orange.

Full Nursing at Best Care College Report

Cochran School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the suburb of Yonkers, Cochran School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Cochran School of Nursing take out an average of $29,255 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Cochran School of Nursing Report

With a ranking of #7, St. Joseph’s College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize city of Syracuse, St Joseph's College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from St Joseph's College of Nursing take out $24,061 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $380.

Read full report on Nursing at St. Joseph’s College of Nursing

St Paul’s School of Nursing - Queens did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Rego Park, St Paul's School of Nursing - Queens is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from St Paul's School of Nursing - Queens take out $32,985 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $191.

Read full report on Nursing at St Paul’s School of Nursing - Queens

#9

Jersey College

Teterboro, NJ

Jersey College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Teterboro, Jersey College is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Jersey College carry an average student debtload of $35,837. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $89, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Jersey College

Delaware Technical Community College - Terry landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the small city of Dover, Delaware Tech is a public college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Delaware Tech take out while working on their Associate Degree is $18,104.

Read full report on Nursing at Delaware Technical Community College - Terry

St. Peter’s Hospital College of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. St. Peter's Hospital College of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Albany.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from St. Peter's Hospital College of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $27,313.

Read More…

Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the small city of Troy, Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing take out while working on their Associate Degree is $30,003.

Full Nursing at Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing Report

Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. PA College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lancaster.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at PA College accumulate an average of around $30,149 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $324.

Read full report on Nursing at Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences

#14

Union County College

Cranford, NJ

With a ranking of #14, Union County College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Cranford, Union County College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Union County College accumulate an average of around $28,481 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Union County College Report

Bronx Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #15 on the list. BCC is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Bronx.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at BCC accumulate an average of around $21,782 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Bronx Community College

#16

County College of Morris

Randolph, NJ

County College of Morris did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Randolph, County College of Morris is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Nursing at County College of Morris

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
17 St Paul’s School of Nursing - Staten Island Staten Island, NY
18 University of Pittsburgh - Titusville Titusville, PA
19 Eastern International College - Belleville Belleville, NJ
20 Harrisburg Area Community College Harrisburg, PA
21 La Roche University Pittsburgh, PA
22 Suffolk County Community College Selden, NY

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 17,708
Pennsylvania 11,477
Maryland 4,104
New Jersey 5,648
District of Columbia 990
Delaware 1,267

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

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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