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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$11,721 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Connecticut. In total, 3,058 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Connecticut.

With all the healthcare programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in Connecticut to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Best Connecticut Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Nursing

#1

Gateway Community College

New Haven, CT

Our analysis found Gateway Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Connecticut. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Gateway Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Gateway Community College are $4,496 a year. Nursing majors at Gateway Community College take out an average of $15,460 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Gateway Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut list.

Full Nursing at Gateway Community College Report

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Capital Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Capital Community College is a small public school located in the midsize city of Hartford.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Capital Community College are $4,596 per year. Nursing majors at Capital Community College take out an average of $20,559 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Capital Community College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut list.

Full Nursing at Capital Community College Report

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Naugatuck Valley Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Waterbury, Naugatuck Valley Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Naugatuck Valley Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,516 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Naugatuck Valley Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $18,245.

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Out of the 8 schools in Connecticut that were part of this year’s ranking, Norwalk Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. NCC is a small public school located in the city of Norwalk.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NCC are $4,586 per year. On average, nursing graduates from NCC take out $20,514 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Norwalk Community College Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Three Rivers Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut list. Located in the small city of Norwich, Three Rivers Community College is a public school with a small student population.

Three Rivers Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,596 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Three Rivers Community College accumulate an average of around $15,961 in student debt.

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With a ranking of #6, Northwestern Connecticut Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the town of Winsted, NCCC is a public college with a small student population.

NCCC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,556 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from NCCC take out $15,473 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#7

Goodwin College

East Hartford, CT

With a ranking of #7, Goodwin College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Goodwin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of East Hartford.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Goodwin are $21,188 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Goodwin accumulate an average of around $48,917 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $191, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#8

Sacred Heart University

Fairfield, CT

Sacred Heart University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut list. Sacred Heart is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Fairfield.

Sacred Heart undergraduate students pay an average of $45,230 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Sacred Heart take out $33,830 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Sacred Heart did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Connecticut list.

Full Nursing at Sacred Heart University Report

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Best Value Nursing Colleges in the New England Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts 6,626
New Hampshire 2,129
Maine 1,262
Vermont 390
Rhode Island 1,091

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

Nursing Concentrations

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 8 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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