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Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

54 Colleges
$8,013 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$64,238 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in California with 18,329 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare program is right for you. 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 Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 54 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Dominguez Hills the best value school in California for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSUDH is a large public school located in the city of Carson.

CSUDH undergraduate students pay an average of $7,060 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CSUDH take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $20,803.

Full Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Monterey Bay. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUMB are $7,218 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at CSUMB accumulate an average of around $16,909 in student debt.

CSUMB also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California rankings.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Monterey Bay

Out of the 54 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Channel Islands landed the # 3 spot on the list. CSUCI is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Camarillo.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUCI are $6,817 per year. On average, nursing graduates from CSUCI take out $23,499 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

#4

United States University

San Diego, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend United States University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. USU is a small private for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USU are $5,700 per year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Sacramento. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Sac State take out $20,623 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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#6

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

Sonoma State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park.

SSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,988 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at SSU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $18,756.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, SSU also is in the top 10% of our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

Read full report on Nursing at Sonoma State University

California State University - Stanislaus landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Stan State is a large public school located in the suburb of Turlock.

Stan State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,644 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Stan State carry an average student debtload of $22,964.

In addition to its great value ranking, Stan State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Stanislaus

California State University - East Bay landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 a year. Nursing majors at Cal State East Bay take out an average of $20,897 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - East Bay

California State University - Fresno ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Fresno State accumulate an average of around $19,835 in student debt.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fresno Report

With a ranking of #10, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from CSULB take out $19,510 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Long Beach

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Oregon 1,502
Washington 3,851
Nevada 2,015
Hawaii 535
Alaska 177

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 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.

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