Find Healthcare Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

12 Colleges
$1,962 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in New Mexico with 1,390 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. 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 New Mexico ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in New Mexico 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.

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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico

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 Clovis Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in New Mexico. Clovis Community College is a small public school located in the town of Clovis.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Clovis Community College are $1,616 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Clovis Community College accumulate an average of around $13,864 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Clovis Community College

#2

San Juan College

Farmington, NM

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Juan College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico list. Located in the small city of Farmington, SJC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

SJC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,618 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from SJC carry an average student debtload of $19,188.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, SJC is ranked #2 for overall quality for nursing in New Mexico.

Read full report on Nursing at San Juan College

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Central New Mexico Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Albuquerque, CNM is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CNM are $1,684 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from CNM carry an average student debtload of $19,004.

Read full report on Nursing at Central New Mexico Community College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Mexico - Taos Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico list. Located in the rural area of Ranchos de Taos, UNM Taos is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNM Taos are $1,872 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from UNM Taos carry an average student debtload of $16,999.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of New Mexico - Gallup Campus. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico list. UNM Gallup is a small public school located in the rural area of Gallup.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNM Gallup are $1,932 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UNM Gallup take out while working on their Associate Degree is $16,999.

UNM Gallup did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico list.

Full Nursing at University of New Mexico - Gallup Campus Report

With a ranking of #6, New Mexico State University - Carlsbad did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. NMSU Carlsbad is a small public school located in the rural area of Carlsbad.

NMSU Carlsbad undergraduate students pay an average of $1,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at NMSU Carlsbad take out while working on their Associate Degree is $21,758.

NMSU Carlsbad also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Mexico list, coming in at #3.

Full Nursing at New Mexico State University - Carlsbad Report

With a ranking of #7, University of New Mexico - Valencia County Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. UNM Valencia is a small public school located in the rural area of Los Lunas.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNM Valencia are $1,878 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from UNM Valencia carry an average student debtload of $16,999.

Full Nursing at University of New Mexico - Valencia County Campus Report

With a ranking of #8, New Mexico Junior College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. New Mexico Junior College is a small public school located in the town of Hobbs.

New Mexico Junior College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,920 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from New Mexico Junior College take out $19,434 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

With a ranking of #9, New Mexico State University - Dona Ana did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. NMSU Dona Ana is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Las Cruces.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NMSU Dona Ana are $2,160 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from NMSU Dona Ana carry an average student debtload of $21,758.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, NMSU Dona Ana is ranked #4 for overall quality for nursing in New Mexico.

Read full report on Nursing at New Mexico State University - Dona Ana

#10

Santa Fe Community College

Santa Fe, NM

Santa Fe Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Santa Fe, SFCC is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFCC are $2,505 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at SFCC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $32,105.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southwest Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 21,862
Arizona 12,966
Oklahoma 3,009

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

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 12 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.