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Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

112 Colleges
$57,601 Avg Salary
$21,889 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 39,944 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 Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 112 schools in the Southwest Region to see which associate degree programs were the most popular for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio the most popular school in the Southwest Region for nursing students working on their associate degree. Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio is a small private for-profit school located in the city of San Antonio.

Of the 502 students majoring in nursing at Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio, 12% are male and 88% are female.

Nursing majors at Galen College of Nursing - San Antonio take out an average of $35,636 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $111.

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#2

Lone Star College System

The Woodlands, TX

The in-demand associate degree programs at Lone Star College System helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Southwest Region . North Harris Montgomery is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of The Woodlands.

Women make up 85% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at North Harris Montgomery take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,210.

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#3

South Texas College

McAllen, TX

The in-demand associate degree programs at South Texas College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the medium-sized city of McAllen, South Texas College is a public college with a very large student population.

About 79% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 21% are male.

Nursing majors at South Texas College take out an average of $11,425 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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The in-demand associate degree programs at Austin Community College District helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the large city of Austin, Austin Community College District is a public college with a very large student population.

About 83% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 17% are male.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Austin Community College District take out while working on their Associate Degree is $18,983.

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The in-demand associate degree programs at Tarrant County College District helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in the Southwest Region . Tarrant County College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fort Worth.

About 84% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 16% are male.

Nursing majors at Tarrant County College take out an average of $20,556 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#6

Oklahoma City Community College

Oklahoma City, OK

Oklahoma City Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. OCCC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Oklahoma City.

Women make up 85% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at OCCC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $22,513.

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GateWay Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. GateWay Community College is a small public school located in the large city of Phoenix.

About 83% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 17% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from GateWay Community College take out $24,675 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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San Jacinto Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 88% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 12% are male.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from San Jacinto College carry an average student debt load of $17,670.

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Baptist Health System School of Health Professions came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the large city of San Antonio, Baptist Health System School of Health Professions is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 222 students majoring in nursing at Baptist Health System School of Health Professions, 17% are male and 83% are female.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Baptist Health System School of Health Professions accumulate an average of around $27,515 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $110, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Baptist Health System School of Health Professions Report

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#10

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

Tyler Junior College ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Tyler, Tyler Junior College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 206 students majoring in nursing at Tyler Junior College, 17% are male and 83% are female.

Nursing majors at Tyler Junior College take out an average of $20,409 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#11

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

Amarillo College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Amarillo College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Amarillo.

About 85% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 15% are male.

On average, nursing graduates from Amarillo College take out $22,468 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Tulsa Community College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Tulsa, Tulsa Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 204 students majoring in nursing at Tulsa Community College, 17% are male and 83% are female.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Tulsa Community College accumulate an average of around $26,621 in student debt.

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#13

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

El Centro College ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 203 students majoring in nursing at El Centro College, 14% are male and 86% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from El Centro College take out $20,883 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#14

Pima Community College

Tucson, AZ

With a ranking of #14, Pima Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Pima County Community College District is a large public school located in the large city of Tucson.

Of the 197 students majoring in nursing at Pima County Community College District, 20% are male and 80% are female.

After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Pima County Community College District carry an average student debt load of $20,325.

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#15

San Antonio College

San Antonio, TX

With a ranking of #15, San Antonio College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. San Antonio College is a large public school located in the city of San Antonio.

Of the 195 students majoring in nursing at San Antonio College, 20% are male and 80% are female.

Nursing majors at San Antonio College take out an average of $21,055 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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#16

Glendale Community College

Glendale, AZ

Glendale Community College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Glendale, Glendale Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

Nursing majors at Glendale Community College take out an average of $27,080 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the Southwest Region that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
17 Mesa Community College Mesa, AZ
18 Weatherford College Weatherford, TX
19 Mohave Community College Kingman, AZ
20 Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, OK
21 Central New Mexico Community College Albuquerque, NM
22 Houston Community College Houston, TX

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 21,862
Arizona 12,966
Oklahoma 3,009
New Mexico 1,390

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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