2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania
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 22 schools in Pennsylvania to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a associate degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,443 associate degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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 schools for nursing students working on their associate degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in Pennsylvania
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in nursing.
10 Top Pennsylvania Schools for an Associate in Nursing
Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing needs to take a look at Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences. Located in the rural area of Lancaster, PA College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Nursing associate degree recipients from Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences receive an earnings boost of about $6,020 above the average earnings of nursing majors.
More information about a associate in nursing from Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences
Harrisburg Area Community College is a good decision for individuals pursuing an associate degree in nursing. HACC is a large public college located in the city of Harrisburg.
Associate recipients from the nursing degree program at Harrisburg Area Community College earn $4,385 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a associate in nursing from Harrisburg Area Community College
Delaware County Community College is a great option for students pursuing an associate degree in nursing. Located in the suburb of Media, Delaware County Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Nursing associate degree recipients from Delaware County Community College earn a boost of around $3,835 above the typical income of nursing majors.
More information about a associate in nursing from Delaware County Community College
Any student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to check out Community College of Philadelphia. Community College of Philadelphia is a large public college located in the large city of Philadelphia.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career wages of $63,953.
More information about a associate in nursing from Community College of Philadelphia
CCAC is a large public college located in the city of Pittsburgh.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career income of $62,668.
More information about a associate in nursing from Community College of Allegheny County
