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Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in California

10 Colleges
$90,600 Avg Salary
$21,020 Avg Student Debt

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 10 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular online programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

Check out the online nursing programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Brandman University the most popular online school in California for nursing students. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

Full Nursing at Brandman University Report

Out of the 10 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences landed the # 2 spot on the list. USAHS is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the suburb of San Marcos.

Read full report on Nursing at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences

#3

National University

La Jolla, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in California list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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The excellent online programs at West Coast University - Orange County helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in California. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Anaheim.

Full Nursing at West Coast University - Orange County Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Fresno is a great place for nursing students pursuing an online degree. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at California State University - Fresno Report

Point Loma Nazarene University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in California ranking. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

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Samuel Merritt University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the large city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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With a ranking of #8, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. CSUDH is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Carson.

Full Nursing at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

#9

United States University

San Diego, CA

United States University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. USU is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Read full report on Nursing at United States University

#9

Northcentral University

San Diego, CA

Northcentral University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in California ranking. Northcentral University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Read full report on Nursing at Northcentral University

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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

More Nursing Rankings in California

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 10 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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