2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the New England Region

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.

College Factual looked at 38 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the New England Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,356 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 include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different 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

The nursing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the New England Region.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in the New England Region

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

10 Top New England Region Schools for an Associate in Nursing

1

Capital Community College
Hartford, CT

471 Annual Graduates

$76,364 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to look into Capital Community College. Located in the city of Hartford, Capital Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Associate recipients from the nursing major at Capital Community College get $3,170 more than the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a associate in nursing from Capital Community College

2

Sacred Heart University
Fairfield, CT

69 Annual Graduates

$84,899 Median Starting Salary

Sacred Heart University is a good choice for individuals interested in an associate degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Fairfield, Sacred Heart is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Sacred Heart University make $11,705 more than the average nursing grad.

More information about a associate in nursing from Sacred Heart University

3

Regis College
Weston, MA

90 Annual Graduates

$79,113 Median Starting Salary

Regis College is a good choice for individuals pursuing an associate degree in nursing. Located in the large suburb of Weston, Regis College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Regis College earn $5,919 more than the standard nursing grad.

More information about a associate in nursing from Regis College

4

Quinsigamond Community College
Worcester, MA

141 Annual Graduates

$74,992 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing needs to take a look at Quinsigamond Community College. Quinsigamond Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the medium-sized city of Worcester.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career income of $74,992.

More information about a associate in nursing from Quinsigamond Community College

5

Laboure College
Milton, MA

315 Annual Graduates

$69,451 Median Starting Salary

$14,160 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Milton, Laboure College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program make an average of $69,451 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in nursing from Laboure College

6

Goodwin College
East Hartford, CT

197 Annual Graduates

$79,227 Median Starting Salary

Goodwin is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of East Hartford.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Goodwin College receive $6,033 more than the standard nursing grad.

More information about a associate in nursing from Goodwin College

7

New England Institute of Technology
East Greenwich, RI

119 Annual Graduates

$73,631 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of East Greenwich, New England Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $73,631 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in nursing from New England Institute of Technology

8

Vermont Technical College
Randolph, VT

138 Annual Graduates

$68,342 Median Starting Salary

Vermont Tech is a medium-sized public college located in the remote area of Randolph.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $68,342 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a associate in nursing from Vermont Technical College

9

Mount Wachusett Community College
Gardner, MA

74 Annual Graduates

$74,618 Median Starting Salary

MWCC is a small public college located in the midsize suburb of Gardner.

Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $74,618 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Mount Wachusett Community College

10

Rivier University
Nashua, NH

109 Annual Graduates

$65,499 Median Starting Salary

Rivier is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Nashua.

Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $65,499 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in nursing from Rivier University

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the New England Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts	137	1,310
Connecticut	101	753
New Hampshire	80	328
Rhode Island	70	382
Maine	69	353
Vermont	58	149

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	3,356

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health Professions	824
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	435
Dental Support Services	328
Health & Medical Administrative Services	292
Health Sciences & Services	263
Mental & Social Health Services	175
Other Health Professions	130
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	65
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	29
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	26

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.