2024 Best Registered Nursing Schools in California
115Colleges in California
15,938Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded
Ranked #3 in popularity, registered nursing is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 115 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Registered Nursing Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 15,938 degrees in registered nursing to qualified students.
The registered nursing program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Registered Nursing rankings. For our Best Overall Registered Nursing School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
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 Registered Nursing Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the registered nursing degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Samuel Merritt University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in registered nursing. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Oakland.
There were roughly 595 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Samuel Merritt University in the most recent data year.
Loma Linda University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in registered nursing. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Loma Linda.
There were approximately 200 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Loma Linda University in the most recent data year.
Pacific College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in registered nursing. Located in the medium-sized city of Costa Mesa, Pacific College is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
There were about 4 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Pacific College in the most recent year we have data available.
Any student who is interested in registered nursing needs to look into University of California - San Francisco. UCSF is a small public university located in the city of San Francisco.
There were approximately 159 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at UCSF in the most recent data year.
West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit university located in the city of Anaheim.
There were approximately 971 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at West Coast University - Orange County in the most recent data year.
Western University of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Pomona.
There were about 74 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Western University of Health Sciences in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.
There were approximately 266 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the large suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #259 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Azusa Pacific is a great university overall.
There were roughly 680 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Azusa Pacific in the most recent year we have data available.
MSMU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 52nd out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 207 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at MSMU in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #186 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.
There were about 248 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent year we have data available.
National University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means National University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 404 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 249 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available.
Cal State Fullerton is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Fullerton. A Best Colleges rank of #252 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cal State Fullerton is a great university overall.
There were about 423 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Cal State Fullerton in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 69th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 160 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at PLNU in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Stockton, Delta is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 56th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 123 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Delta in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 75th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 321 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at CSUSM in the most recent year we have data available.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Registered 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).
college factual
The registered nursing program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Registered Nursing rankings. For our Best Overall Registered Nursing School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
