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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

17 Colleges
$7,826 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 Tennessee. In total, 6,004 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Tennessee.

There are so many healthcare programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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.

The Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 17 schools in Tennessee 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

Our analysis found Southwest Tennessee Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Tennessee. Located in the large city of Memphis, Southwest is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Southwest are $4,430 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Southwest take out $21,348 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at JSCC are $4,618 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from JSCC carry an average student debtload of $12,975.

JSCC also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee list, coming in at #2.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Dyersburg State Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the distant town of Dyersburg, DSCC is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DSCC are $4,410 per year. Nursing majors at DSCC take out an average of $14,708 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Motlow State Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Tullahoma, Motlow is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Motlow are $4,416 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Motlow take out $10,802 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Motlow State Community College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeast State Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the rural area of Blountville, Northeast State Technical Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Northeast State Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,422 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Northeast State Technical Community College take out an average of $10,274 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Chattanooga State Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Chattanooga State Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga.

Chattanooga State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,430 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Chattanooga State Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,491.

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Walters State Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Located in the small city of Morristown, WSCC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WSCC are $4,399 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at WSCC accumulate an average of around $11,916 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Walters State Community College

With a ranking of #8, Columbia State Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Columbia State Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Columbia.

Columbia State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,666 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Columbia State Community College take out $20,585 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Columbia State Community College

Pellissippi State Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Tennessee list. Pellissippi State Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Knoxville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pellissippi State Community College are $4,456 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Pellissippi State Community College carry an average student debtload of $20,369.

Full Nursing at Pellissippi State Community College Report

Nashville State 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 #10 on the list. Nashville State Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Nashville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Nashville State Community College are $4,372 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Nashville State Community College accumulate an average of around $29,824 in student debt.

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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
Kentucky 6,395
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

Majors Similar to Nursing

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 17 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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