2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Wisconsin

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 18 schools in Wisconsin 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 1,666 associate degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

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 take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host 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

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 Wisconsin list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in Wisconsin

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

10 Top Wisconsin Schools for an Associate in Nursing

1

Gateway Technical College
Kenosha, WI

154 Annual Graduates

$68,134 Median Starting Salary

Gateway Technical College is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in nursing. Gateway Technical College is a large public college located in the city of Kenosha.

Nursing associate degree recipients from Gateway Technical College receive an earnings boost of around $2,146 above the typical earnings of nursing majors.

More information about a associate in nursing from Gateway Technical College

2

Madison Area Technical College
Madison, WI

145 Annual Graduates

$66,446 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing has to take a look at Madison Area Technical College. Madison College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Madison.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career wages of $66,446.

More information about a associate in nursing from Madison Area Technical College

3

Chippewa Valley Technical College
Eau Claire, WI

165 Annual Graduates

$64,532 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing needs to look into Chippewa Valley Technical College. CVTC is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Eau Claire.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $64,532.

More information about a associate in nursing from Chippewa Valley Technical College

4

Rasmussen University - Wisconsin
Green Bay, WI

72 Annual Graduates

$68,119 Median Starting Salary

$17,700 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to look into Rasmussen University - Wisconsin. Located in the midsize city of Green Bay, Rasmussen University - Wisconsin is a private for-profit university with a fairly small student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Rasmussen University - Wisconsin make $2,131 more than the standard nursing student.

More information about a associate in nursing from Rasmussen University - Wisconsin

5

Western Technical College
La Crosse, WI

87 Annual Graduates

$64,274 Median Starting Salary

Western Technical College is a small public college located in the city of La Crosse.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career income of $64,274.

More information about a associate in nursing from Western Technical College

6

Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI

79 Annual Graduates

$69,145 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public college with a large student population.

Associate recipients from the nursing major at Milwaukee Area Technical College make $3,157 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in nursing from Milwaukee Area Technical College

7

Bryant & Stratton College - Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa, WI

176 Annual Graduates

$68,983 Median Starting Salary

$11,583 Median Student Debt

Bryant & Stratton College - Wauwatosa is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Wauwatosa.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Bryant & Stratton College - Wauwatosa make $2,995 more than the typical nursing student.

More information about a associate in nursing from Bryant & Stratton College - Wauwatosa

8

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
Green Bay, WI

155 Annual Graduates

$61,633 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Green Bay, NWTC is a public college with a large student population.

Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $61,633 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College

9

Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College
Rice Lake, WI

67 Annual Graduates

$64,281 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Rice Lake, WITC is a public college with a small student population.

Soon after graduation, nursing associate recipients generally make an average of $64,281 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a associate in nursing from Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

10

Blackhawk Technical College
Janesville, WI

56 Annual Graduates

$69,492 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Janesville, BTC is a public college with a small student population.

Nursing associate degree recipients from Blackhawk Technical College get an earnings boost of around $3,504 over the typical income of nursing majors.

More information about a associate in nursing from Blackhawk Technical College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Ohio	196	4,139
Michigan	192	2,284
Indiana	123	1,648
Illinois	119	2,975

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	1,666

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health Professions	370
Mental & Social Health Services	293
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	274
Health & Medical Administrative Services	228
Dental Support Services	155
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	104
Health Sciences & Services	21
Alternative Medical Support Services	17
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	6
Public Health	5

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.