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Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

62 Colleges
$64,238 Avg Salary
$28,730 Avg Student Debt

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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 62 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's degree programs 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 Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named West Coast University - Orange County the most popular school in California for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Anaheim.

About 80% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 20% are male.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at West Coast University - Orange County accumulate an average of around $38,539 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $665.

Full Nursing at West Coast University - Orange County Report

#2

West Coast University - Los Angeles

North Hollywood, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Coast University - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of North Hollywood, West Coast University - Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 76% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at West Coast University - Los Angeles take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $38,539. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $665.

Full Nursing at West Coast University - Los Angeles Report

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at West Coast University - Ontario helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in California. Located in the city of Ontario, West Coast University - Ontario is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 80% of the nursing majors at the school.

Nursing majors at West Coast University - Ontario take out an average of $38,539 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $665.

Full Nursing at West Coast University - Ontario Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Samuel Merritt University is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 78% of the nursing majors at the school.

Nursing majors at Samuel Merritt University take out an average of $28,570 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $551.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Azusa Pacific University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Azusa Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Azusa.

About 82% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 18% are male.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Azusa Pacific accumulate an average of around $28,361 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $246.

Read More…

California State University - Fullerton landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

Women make up 82% of the nursing majors at the school.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Cal State Fullerton carry an average student debt load of $21,365.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fullerton Report

#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

With a ranking of #7, National University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

About 75% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 25% are male.

Nursing majors at National University take out an average of $35,476 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $198, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at National University Report

With a ranking of #8, California State University - San Marcos did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public school with a large student population.

Of the 294 students majoring in nursing at CSUSM, 22% are male and 78% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from CSUSM take out $26,292 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - San Marcos

California State University - Sacramento landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

Women make up 83% of the nursing majors at the school.

Nursing majors at Sac State take out an average of $20,623 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Nursing at California State University - Sacramento Report

#10

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 81% of the nursing majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at SDSU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $18,998. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $250.

Read full report on Nursing at San Diego State University

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
11 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
12 Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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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