2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in New Jersey

Ranked #2 in popularity, nursing is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 21 schools in New Jersey to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,356 associate degrees in nursing to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Associate Degree

The nursing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt nursing students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 New Jersey list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in New Jersey

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in nursing.

10 Top New Jersey Schools for an Associate in Nursing

1

Union County College
Cranford, NJ

296 Annual Graduates

$82,581 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Union County College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Cranford, Union County College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Nursing associate degree recipients from Union County College get an earnings boost of about $4,830 over the typical earnings of nursing majors.

More information about a associate in nursing from Union County College

2

Essex County College
Newark, NJ

35 Annual Graduates

$70,500 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to look into Essex County College. Located in the large city of Newark, Essex is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $70,500.

More information about a associate in nursing from Essex County College

3

Bergen Community College
Paramus, NJ

88 Annual Graduates

$76,147 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing needs to check out Bergen Community College. Located in the suburb of Paramus, Bergen Community College is a public college with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career wages of $76,147.

More information about a associate in nursing from Bergen Community College

4

Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ

116 Annual Graduates

$82,925 Median Starting Salary

Ocean County College is a wonderful choice for students pursuing an associate degree in nursing. Located in the suburb of Toms River, OCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Ocean County College make $5,174 more than the typical nursing student.

More information about a associate in nursing from Ocean County College

5

Brookdale Community College
Lincroft, NJ

111 Annual Graduates

$80,574 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Lincroft, Brookdale Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Nursing associate degree recipients from Brookdale Community College earn a boost of around $2,823 above the typical income of nursing graduates.

More information about a associate in nursing from Brookdale Community College

6

Raritan Valley Community College
Branchburg, NJ

77 Annual Graduates

$82,020 Median Starting Salary

Located in the rural area of Branchburg, RVCC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Raritan Valley Community College earn $4,269 more than the standard nursing student.

More information about a associate in nursing from Raritan Valley Community College

7

Eastern International College - Jersey City
Jersey City, NJ

68 Annual Graduates

$90,216 Median Starting Salary

Eastern International College - Jersey City is a small private for-profit college located in the city of Jersey City.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Eastern International College - Jersey City receive $12,465 more than the average nursing graduate.

More information about a associate in nursing from Eastern International College - Jersey City

8

County College of Morris
Randolph, NJ

75 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Randolph, County College of Morris is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in nursing from County College of Morris

9

Salem Community College
Carneys Point, NJ

59 Annual Graduates

$74,062 Median Starting Salary

Salem County College is a small public college located in the suburb of Carneys Point.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $74,062 for their early career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Salem Community College

10

Mercer County Community College
West Windsor, NJ

92 Annual Graduates

$74,795 Median Starting Salary

Located in the rural area of West Windsor, Mercer County Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

After graduating, nursing associate recipients usually earn around $74,795 in their early careers.

More information about a associate in nursing from Mercer County Community College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	196	6,617
Pennsylvania	179	2,443
Maryland	126	1,466
Delaware	60	325

View All Rankings >

Nursing Related Rankings by Major

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing	2,356

Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health Professions	711
Health Sciences & Services	559
Health/Medical Prep Programs	407
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	284
Dental Support Services	100
Health & Medical Administrative Services	76
Public Health	30
Mental & Social Health Services	25
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	24
Other Health Professions	24

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.