2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in California
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing 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.
The Best Value Nursing Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 124 schools in California to see which 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. 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.
Top 15% Best Nursing Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Merced College the best value school in California for nursing students. Located in the small city of Merced, Merced Community College District is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Merced Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $1,180 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Merced Community College District take out an average of $11,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
Merced Community College District also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Schools in California list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Modesto Junior College is a great value for nursing students. MJC is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Modesto.
MJC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,274 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Butte College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Butte College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,368 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Butte College take out $16,161 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means San Joaquin Delta College is a great value for nursing students. Located in the large city of Stockton, Delta is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Delta are $1,288 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cabrillo College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. Cabrillo College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Aptos.
Cabrillo College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,262 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Cabrillo College accumulate an average of around $14,500 in student debt.
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Cuesta College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cuesta College are $1,338 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cuesta College also is in the top 15% of our Best Nursing Schools in California ranking.
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West Hills College-Lemoore did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the rural area of Lemoore, West Hills College-Lemoore is a public school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at West Hills College-Lemoore are $1,380 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at West Hills College-Lemoore accumulate an average of around $14,000 in student debt.
In addition to its great value ranking, West Hills College-Lemoore is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing Schools in California list.
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Yuba College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in California ranking. Yuba College is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Marysville.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Yuba College are $1,128 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Yuba College accumulate an average of around $10,000 in student debt.
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Santa Rosa Junior College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in California ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public college with a large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SRJC are $1,328 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from SRJC carry an average student debtload of $13,916.
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Sacramento City College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sacramento City is a public school with a large student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Sacramento City accumulate an average of around $11,277 in student debt.
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Santa Barbara City College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the small city of Santa Barbara, SBCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
SBCC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,232 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at SBCC accumulate an average of around $16,823 in student debt.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, SBCC also is in the top 20% of our Best Nursing Schools in California ranking.
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With a ranking of #12, Ventura College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Ventura College is a large public school located in the city of Ventura.
Ventura College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,394 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Ventura College take out $16,953 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #13, Mt. San Antonio College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Mt. SAC is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Walnut.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mt. SAC are $1,352 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Mt. SAC carry an average student debtload of $14,500.
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Glendale Community College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized city of Glendale, GCC is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at GCC are $1,171 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at GCC take out is $16,304.
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Fresno City College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno City College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno City College are $1,304 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Fresno City College accumulate an average of around $8,500 in student debt.
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Riverside City College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. Riverside City College is a large public school located in the city of Riverside.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Riverside City College are $1,420 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Riverside City College take out is $12,500.
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With a ranking of #17, College of the Sequoias did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Visalia, College of the Sequoias is a public college with a large student population.
College of the Sequoias undergraduate students pay an average of $1,394 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from College of the Sequoias carry an average student debtload of $13,060.
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American River College ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. American River is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Sacramento.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at American River accumulate an average of around $20,779 in student debt.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing students in the state of California seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita, CA |
| 20 | Mendocino College | Ukiah, CA |
| 21 | College of the Desert | Palm Desert, CA |
| 22 | Moorpark College | Moorpark, CA |
| 23 | Napa Valley College | Napa, CA |
| 24 | Bakersfield College | Bakersfield, CA |
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 |
More Nursing Rankings in California
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Nursing Concentrations
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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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