Find Healthcare Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

28 Colleges
$7,475 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Kentucky with 6,395 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's healthcare students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

The Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 28 schools in Kentucky to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky

Check out the nursing associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Gateway Community and Technical College the best value school in Kentucky for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Florence, Gateway is a public college with a small student population.

Gateway undergraduate students pay an average of $4,568 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Gateway accumulate an average of around $25,591 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Gateway Community and Technical College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bluegrass Community and Technical College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the city of Lexington, Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bluegrass Community and Technical College are $4,568 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Bluegrass Community and Technical College accumulate an average of around $24,519 in student debt.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Bluegrass Community and Technical College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Jefferson Community and Technical College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the city of Louisville, Jefferson Community and Technical College is a public school with a large student population.

Jefferson Community and Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,568 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Jefferson Community and Technical College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $26,771.

Read full report on Nursing at Jefferson Community and Technical College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Henderson Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the rural area of Henderson, Henderson Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Henderson Community College are $4,488 a year. Nursing majors at Henderson Community College take out an average of $24,540 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Henderson Community College

#5

Hopkinsville Community College

Hopkinsville, KY

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Hopkinsville Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Hopkinsville Community College is a small public school located in the distant town of Hopkinsville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Hopkinsville Community College are $4,488 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Hopkinsville Community College carry an average student debtload of $22,408.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. SKYCTC is a small public school located in the small city of Bowling Green.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SKYCTC are $4,488 a year. Nursing majors at SKYCTC take out an average of $23,844 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College Report

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

Owensboro Community and Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,488 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Owensboro Community and Technical College carry an average student debtload of $17,879.

Read More…

#8

Madisonville Community College

Madisonville, KY

With a ranking of #8, Madisonville Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Madisonville Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Madisonville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Madisonville Community College are $4,488 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Madisonville Community College accumulate an average of around $19,740 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Madisonville Community College

Big Sandy Community and 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 #9 on the list. Big Sandy Community and Technical College is a small public school located in the remote town of Prestonsburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Big Sandy Community and Technical College are $4,488 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Big Sandy Community and Technical College accumulate an average of around $16,761 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Big Sandy Community and Technical College Report

West Kentucky Community and Technical College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the town of Paducah, West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at West Kentucky Community and Technical College are $4,488 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at West Kentucky Community and Technical College accumulate an average of around $18,885 in student debt.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
Tennessee 6,004
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
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 25 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.

Featured Schools

Find Healthcare Schools Near You

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