Nursing is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2022, College Factual analyzed 153 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 12,770 associate degrees in nursing during the 2019-2020 academic year.
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Associate Degree
Your choice of school for getting your associate degree in nursing matters.
One of the reasons we created our Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Great Lakes Region ranking is to help you make that choice.
Being popular does not always equate to overall quality, but a school with a large number of nursing students usually has them for a reason. Sometimes this is because the school offers a great educational experience, it is a good value, or it is highly focused on the program.
This ranking is just one of the many we have created.
First of all, if you are interested in other degree levels, you may want to take a look at one of the rankings highlighted above.
Also, if you are interested in attending school in a specific part of the country, see our rankings by location.
On top of that, you can visit our other rankings for nursing.
Most Popular Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in the Great Lakes Region
Below you'll see a list of the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
23 Most Well Attended Schools for Nursing Students Working on Their Associate
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Ivy Tech Community College if you want to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public college with a very large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Indiana.
There were about 1,348 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Ivy Tech Community College in the most recent data year.
After graduation, nursing associate recipients usually make an average of $51,400 in their early careers.
Any student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to take a look at Rasmussen University - Illinois. Rasmussen University - Illinois is a small private for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Rockford. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Illinois.
There were about 321 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Rasmussen University - Illinois in the most recent year we have data available.
Associate recipients from the nursing degree program at Rasmussen University - Illinois get $2,137 above the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Hondros College of Nursing if you wish to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Hondros College of Nursing is a small private for-profit college located in the suburb of Westerville.
There were approximately 303 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Hondros College of Nursing in the most recent data year.
Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program make an average of $53,400 for their early career.
Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing has to look into Cuyahoga Community College District. Cuyahoga Community College District is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Cleveland. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #5 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Ohio.
There were approximately 255 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Cuyahoga Community College District in the most recent year we have data available.
After graduating, nursing associate recipients typically earn about $52,700 at the beginning of their careers.
Owens State Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Perrysburg. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #6 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Ohio.
There were about 244 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Owens State Community College in the most recent data year.
After graduation, nursing associate recipients generally make about $53,500 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the small suburb of Newark, COTC is a public college with a small student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Ohio.
There were about 215 nursing students who graduated with this degree at COTC in the most recent year we have data available.
After graduating, nursing associate recipients generally make about $51,100 in their early careers.
Henry Ford College is a fairly large public college located in the small city of Dearborn. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #2 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Michigan.
There were roughly 202 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Henry Ford College in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the small city of Elyria, LCCC is a public college with a large student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #8 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Ohio.
There were approximately 192 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at LCCC in the most recent data year.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $50,300.
Located in the small city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Wisconsin.
There were approximately 181 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at CVTC in the most recent year we have data available.
Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $53,900 in their early career salary.
Located in the large city of Madison, Madison College is a public college with a fairly large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Wisconsin.
There were roughly 178 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Madison College in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Cincinnati, Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati is a private for-profit college with a small student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Ohio.
There were approximately 170 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati in the most recent data year.
Associate recipients from the nursing major at Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati make $4,137 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Livonia, Schoolcraft College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Michigan.
There were roughly 168 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Schoolcraft College in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Joliet, Joliet Junior College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #4 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Illinois.
There were about 157 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Joliet Junior College in the most recent year we have data available.
Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Joliet Junior College earn $8,537 more than the typical nursing graduate.
Located in the city of Chicago, Malcolm X College is a public college with a medium-sized student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Illinois.
There were about 154 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Malcolm X College in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Indianapolis, Purdue University Global is a public university with a very large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #3 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Indiana.
There were about 142 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Purdue University Global in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Wisconsin.
There were approximately 140 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Gateway Technical College in the most recent year we have data available.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career wages of $52,300.
Located in the city of Toledo, Mercy College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Ohio.
There were approximately 132 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Mercy College in the most recent data year.
Associate recipients from the nursing degree program at Mercy College of Ohio earn $2,137 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large suburb of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Community College is a public college with a large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #9 in quality for associate degrees in nursing in Michigan.
There were about 128 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Washtenaw Community College in the most recent year we have data available.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career wages of $51,000.
Rest of the Top Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Great Lakes Region
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Great Lakes Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).
Your choice of school for getting your associate degree in nursing matters.
One of the reasons we created our Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Great Lakes Region ranking is to help you make that choice.
