Nursing is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #3 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 124 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nursing Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 18,633 degrees in nursing to qualified students.
Your choice of nursing school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Nursing School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the nursing degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student pursuing a degree in nursing needs to take a look at Samuel Merritt University. Located in the city of Oakland, Samuel Merritt University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
There were approximately 739 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Samuel Merritt University in the most recent data year. Those nursing students who get their degree from Samuel Merritt University receive $22,018 more than the standard nursing grad.
Loma Linda University is a great option for students interested in a degree in nursing. Located in the suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
There were approximately 224 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Loma Linda University in the most recent data year. Nursing degree recipients from Loma Linda University receive an earnings boost of around $30,274 above the typical earnings of nursing majors.
University of Southern California is a good option for students pursuing a degree in nursing. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 100 nursing students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from University of Southern California earn $76,628 more than the standard nursing graduate.
Any student pursuing a degree in nursing needs to take a look at Pacific College. Pacific College is a fairly small private for-profit college located in the midsize city of Costa Mesa.
There were approximately 4 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Pacific College in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from Pacific College earn $23,648 more than the standard nursing student.
Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 252 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the nursing program state that they receive average early career wages of $91,530.
Located in the large city of San Francisco, UCSF is a public university with a small student population.
There were about 191 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UCSF in the most recent data year. Nursing degree recipients from University of California - San Francisco receive an earnings boost of about $24,336 above the average earnings of nursing graduates.
Located in the large city of Anaheim, West Coast University - Orange County is a private for-profit university with a small student population.
There were approximately 1307 nursing students who graduated with this degree at West Coast University - Orange County in the most recent data year. Nursing degree recipients from West Coast University - Orange County earn a boost of about $4,967 over the average earnings of nursing graduates.
USU is a small private for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #101 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 451 nursing students who graduated with this degree at USU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the nursing degree program at United States University make $26,003 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the suburb of Pomona, Western University of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
There were roughly 117 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Western University of Health Sciences in the most recent data year. Those nursing students who get their degree from Western University of Health Sciences make $13,300 more than the typical nursing graduate.
USFCA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 466 nursing students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the nursing program at University of San Francisco earn $30,674 more than the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Azusa Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Azusa. This university ranks 43rd out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 680 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Azusa Pacific in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from Azusa Pacific University receive $12,069 more than the standard nursing grad.
Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 52nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 216 nursing students who graduated with this degree at MSMU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $76,204.
UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were approximately 68 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, nursing degree recipients typically make about $91,018 at the beginning of their careers.
CSULB is a very large public university located in the city of Long Beach. This university ranks 28th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 356 nursing students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Those nursing students who get their degree from California State University - Long Beach receive $8,464 more than the standard nursing graduate.
SDSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.
There were about 249 nursing students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from San Diego State University make $4,192 more than the standard nursing grad.
Located in the city of San Diego, National University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 33rd out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 423 nursing students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $88,491.
Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were roughly 50 nursing students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from University of California - Davis receive $36,900 more than the standard nursing student.
USD is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego. This university ranks 29th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 147 nursing students who graduated with this degree at USD in the most recent year we have data available. Those nursing students who get their degree from University of San Diego receive $14,901 more than the standard nursing graduate.
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the state of California that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools in California 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).