by our College Data Analytics Team
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 84,274 people earned their degree in practical nursing and nursing assistants, making the major the 187th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, practical nursing and nursing assistants graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $36,863 and had an average of $15,708 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 8,037 practical nursing and nursing assistants graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,752 and $17,707 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California” ranking analyzed 43 colleges that offered a degree in practical nursing and nursing assistants. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular practical nursing and nursing assistants programs in the United States.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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.
The colleges and universities below are the best for california practical nursing students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Unitek College. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Unitek College is a private for-profit institution located in Fremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,162 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read more about Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Unitek College
Out of the 43 schools in the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts landed the #2 spot on the list. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a small private for-profit school situated in San Mateo, California. It awarded 876 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carrington College, Sacramento. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California. This small school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 213 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Carrington College, Sacramento Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
Out of the 43 schools in the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Pacific College landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Costa Mesa, California, this small private for-profit school awarded 80 degrees to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Pacific College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Long Beach City College. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 83 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Long Beach City College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
With a ranking of #6, Citrus College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. This medium-sized school is located in Glendora, California, and it awarded 74 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Citrus College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
With a ranking of #7, Riverside City College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. This fairly large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 156 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Riverside City College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
With a ranking of #8, Southwestern College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Southwestern College is located in Chula Vista, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 64 ’s practical nursing degrees to qualified students.
Full Southwestern College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking. Located in Visalia, California, this small private for-profit school handed out 28 degrees to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia
Allan Hancock College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking. Located in Santa Maria, California, this medium-sized public school awarded 111 degrees to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Allan Hancock College
Hartnell College ranked #11 on this year’s Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Hartnell College is a public institution located in Salinas, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 54 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Hartnell College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
Mission College ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Located in Santa Clara, California, this medium-sized public school handed out 64 diplomas to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
Full Mission College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
Platt College - Los Angeles ranked #13 on this year’s Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. This small school is located in Alhambra, California, and it awarded 30 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Platt College - Los Angeles Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
Sacramento City College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Sacramento, California, this fairly large public school handed out 41 diplomas to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
Full Sacramento City Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
With a ranking of #15, Lassen Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Susanville, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s practical nursing degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Lassen Community College
Chaffey College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking. This fairly large school is located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and it awarded 29 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Chaffey College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
With a ranking of #16, College of the Redwoods did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Located in Eureka, California, this small public school handed out 42 degrees to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at College of the Redwoods
With a ranking of #18, College of the Desert did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Located in Palm Desert, California, this fairly large public school awarded 41 degrees to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at College of the Desert
Imperial Valley College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking. Located in Imperial, California, this medium-sized public school handed out 15 degrees to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #20, Copper Mountain Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. Copper Mountain Community College is a small public school situated in Joshua Tree, California. It awarded 23 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Copper Mountain Community College
With a ranking of #21, MiraCosta College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California list. MiraCosta College is a fairly large school located in Oceanside, California that handed out 22 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Full MiraCosta College Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Report
Cuesta College landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking. San Luis Obispo, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s practical nursing degrees to 58 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Cuesta College
Merced College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking, coming in at #24. Merced Community College District is a medium-sized public school situated in Merced, California. It awarded 12 ’s practical nursing degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Merced Community College District
Cerro Coso Community College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Practical Nursing Major in California ranking. Located in Ridgecrest, California, this small public school awarded 11 degrees to qualified ’s practical nursing students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Cerro Coso Community College
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
