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Best Value Nursing Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

43 Colleges
$13,978 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$90,600 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was ranked 5th in California. In fact, 3,819 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 43 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value 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 Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

#1

United States University

San Diego, CA
$5,700 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named United States University the best value school in California for nursing students. USU is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

USU undergraduate students pay an average of $5,700 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at United States University

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Fresno is a great value for nursing students. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fresno Report

$7,644 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Stanislaus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. Stan State is a large public school located in the small suburb of Turlock.

Stan State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,644 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Stanislaus Report

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.

Full Nursing at California State University - Long Beach Report

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Fullerton helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year.

Read More…

#6

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA
$7,988 Average Tuition & Fees

Sonoma State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SSU are $7,988 per year.

Read More…

$7,864 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Chico ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. Chico State is a large public school located in the city of Chico.

Chico State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,864 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at California State University - Chico

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

San Jose State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in California list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Schools in California list.

Read More…

$7,060 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. CSUDH is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Carson.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUDH are $7,060 a year.

Read More…

$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - East Bay came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 a year.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 561
Oregon 69
Nevada 211
Hawaii 46
Alaska 17

One of 29 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 16,952

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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