2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Jersey
Ranked #2 in popularity,
nursing is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 21 schools in New Jersey to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,356 associate degrees in nursing to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Associate Degree
The nursing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt nursing students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their associate degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Jersey list to help you make the college decision.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in New Jersey
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in nursing.
10 Top New Jersey Schools for an Associate in Nursing
It is difficult to beat Union County College if you want to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Cranford, Union County College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Nursing associate degree recipients from Union County College get an earnings boost of about $4,830 over the typical earnings of nursing graduates.
More information about a associate in nursing from Union County College
Any student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to take a look at Essex County College. Located in the city of Newark, Essex is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $70,500.
More information about a associate in nursing from Essex County College
Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing has to take a look at Bergen Community College. Located in the suburb of Paramus, Bergen Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career wages of $76,147.
More information about a associate in nursing from Bergen Community College
Ocean County College is a good decision for students pursuing an associate degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Toms River, OCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Ocean County College receive $5,174 more than the standard nursing student.
More information about a associate in nursing from Ocean County College
Located in the suburb of Lincroft, Brookdale Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Nursing associate degree recipients from Brookdale Community College earn a boost of about $2,823 over the average earnings of nursing majors.
More information about a associate in nursing from Brookdale Community College
