Find Healthcare Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina

14 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 South Carolina with 3,296 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. 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 Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in South Carolina 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 South Carolina

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

#1

Trident Technical College

Charleston, SC

Our 2023 rankings named Trident Technical College the best school in South Carolina for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Charleston, Trident Technical College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Trident Technical College accumulate an average of around $29,278 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Trident Technical College

The excellent associate degree programs at Greenville Technical College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in South Carolina. GTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Greenville.

On average, nursing graduates from GTC take out $28,495 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Greenville Technical College Report

The excellent associate degree programs at Florence-Darlington Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in South Carolina. Located in the suburb of Florence, Florence-Darlington Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Florence-Darlington Technical College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina list. Located in the rural area of Orangeburg, OCtech is a public college with a small student population.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at OCtech accumulate an average of around $22,878 in student debt.

Read More…

#5

Midlands Technical College

West Columbia, SC

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Midlands Technical College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the large suburb of West Columbia, MTC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at MTC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $26,377.

Full Nursing at Midlands Technical College Report

Fortis College - Columbia came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina ranking. Located in the midsize city of Columbia, Fortis College - Columbia is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Fortis College - Columbia take out $42,373 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#7

Aiken Technical College

Graniteville, SC

With a ranking of #7, Aiken Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Graniteville, Aiken Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Aiken Technical College take out $23,979 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Aiken Technical College Report

With a ranking of #8, Tri-County Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. TCTC is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Pendleton.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from TCTC carry an average student debtload of $22,472.

Read More…

#9

Piedmont Technical College

Greenwood, SC

Piedmont Technical College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina ranking. Piedmont Technical College is a small public school located in the distant town of Greenwood.

Nursing majors at Piedmont Technical College take out an average of $29,429 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

Central Carolina Technical 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 #10 on the list. Central Carolina is a small public school located in the city of Sumter.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Central Carolina carry an average student debtload of $23,765.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
Tennessee 6,004
Kentucky 6,395
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Arkansas 2,882

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 14 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.

Featured Schools

Find Healthcare Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited healthcare schools across the U.S.