2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Washington

If you pursue a associate degree in nursing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #2 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 24 schools in Washington to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,683 associate degrees in nursing to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of nursing for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to nursing students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other nursing students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for nursing to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
• 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.

More Ways to Rank Nursing Schools

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 Washington list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in Washington

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for nursing students seeking a an associate degree.

10 Top Washington Schools for an Associate in Nursing

1

Shoreline Community College
Shoreline, WA

113 Annual Graduates

$78,850 Median Starting Salary

Shoreline Community College is a good option for students interested in an associate degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Shoreline, Shoreline Community College is a public college with a small student population.

After graduating, nursing associate recipients usually earn around $78,850 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a associate in nursing from Shoreline Community College

2

Seattle Central College
Seattle, WA

134 Annual Graduates

$83,117 Median Starting Salary

Seattle Central College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle Central is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Seattle Central College make $4,590 more than the typical nursing graduate.

More information about a associate in nursing from Seattle Central College

3

Lake Washington Institute of Technology
Kirkland, WA

74 Annual Graduates

$83,313 Median Starting Salary

Lake Washington Institute of Technology is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Kirkland, LWTech is a public school with a small student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Lake Washington Institute of Technology earn $4,786 more than the standard nursing graduate.

More information about a associate in nursing from Lake Washington Institute of Technology

4

Walla Walla Community College
Walla Walla, WA

108 Annual Graduates

$75,416 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Walla Walla Community College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Located in the small city of Walla Walla, Walla Walla Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $75,416.

More information about a associate in nursing from Walla Walla Community College

5

Wenatchee Valley College
Wenatchee, WA

56 Annual Graduates

$76,527 Median Starting Salary

WVC is a small public college located in the small city of Wenatchee.

After graduating, nursing associate recipients usually make around $76,527 in their early careers.

More information about a associate in nursing from Wenatchee Valley College

6

Lower Columbia College
Longview, WA

116 Annual Graduates

$75,715 Median Starting Salary

LCC is a small public college located in the small city of Longview.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $75,715 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in nursing from Lower Columbia College

7

Bellevue College
Bellevue, WA

84 Annual Graduates

$82,286 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Bellevue, BC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Bellevue College make $3,759 more than the average nursing student.

More information about a associate in nursing from Bellevue College

8

Everett Community College
Everett, WA

139 Annual Graduates

$79,945 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize city of Everett, Everett Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Soon after graduating, nursing associate recipients generally earn about $79,945 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a associate in nursing from Everett Community College

9

Highline College
Des Moines, WA

71 Annual Graduates

$84,619 Median Starting Salary

Highline is a moderately-sized public college located in the large suburb of Des Moines.

Associate recipients from the nursing degree program at Highline College make $6,092 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in nursing from Highline College

10

Tacoma Community College
Tacoma, WA

77 Annual Graduates

$82,447 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize city of Tacoma, Tacoma Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Nursing associate degree recipients from Tacoma Community College receive an earnings boost of around $3,920 above the average income of nursing graduates.

More information about a associate in nursing from Tacoma Community College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	192	5,581
Oregon	147	608
Nevada	112	533
Hawaii	59	135

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Nursing

Nursing is one of 34 different types of Health Professions programs to choose from.

Nursing Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing	1,683

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	475
Allied Health Professions	382
Mental & Social Health Services	194
Health & Medical Administrative Services	190
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	129
Health Sciences & Services	127
Dental Support Services	99
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	15
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	6
Health/Medical Prep Programs	4

Notes and References

• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle. More about our data sources and methodologies.