2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky

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.

College Factual looked at 28 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,937 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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.

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

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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools 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 Kentucky.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in Kentucky

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

10 Top Kentucky Schools for an Associate in Nursing

1

Galen College of Nursing - Louisville
Louisville, KY

327 Annual Graduates

$68,114 Median Starting Salary

$12,422 Median Student Debt

Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a great choice for individuals pursuing an associate degree in nursing. Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a small private for-profit college located in the large city of Louisville.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville earn $3,263 more than the typical nursing graduate.

More information about a associate in nursing from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville

2

Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY

96 Annual Graduates

$64,845 Median Starting Salary

Western Kentucky University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. WKU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bowling Green.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $64,845.

More information about a associate in nursing from Western Kentucky University

3

Sullivan University
Louisville, KY

112 Annual Graduates

$68,824 Median Starting Salary

Sullivan University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. Located in the city of Louisville, Sullivan University is a private for-profit university with a small student population.

Associate recipients from the nursing major at Sullivan University make $3,973 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in nursing from Sullivan University

4

Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, KY

91 Annual Graduates

$63,784 Median Starting Salary

Jefferson Community and Technical College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. Jefferson Community and Technical College is a large public college located in the city of Louisville.

Soon after graduation, nursing associate recipients generally make around $63,784 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Jefferson Community and Technical College

5

Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY

32 Annual Graduates

$66,512 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Richmond, Eastern is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $66,512.

More information about a associate in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University

6

University of the Cumberlands
Williamsburg, KY

61 Annual Graduates

Located in the remote town of Williamsburg, Cumberlands is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a associate in nursing from University of the Cumberlands

7

Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Lexington, KY

114 Annual Graduates

$62,832 Median Starting Salary

Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a large public college located in the city of Lexington.

Soon after graduating, nursing associate recipients usually make around $62,832 in their early careers.

More information about a associate in nursing from Bluegrass Community and Technical College

8

University of Pikeville
Pikeville, KY

40 Annual Graduates

$76,570 Median Starting Salary

UPIKE is a small private not-for-profit university located in the remote town of Pikeville.

Nursing associate degree recipients from University of Pikeville receive an earnings boost of about $11,719 over the typical income of nursing majors.

More information about a associate in nursing from University of Pikeville

9

Morehead State University
Morehead, KY

49 Annual Graduates

$69,929 Median Starting Salary

Morehead State University is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Morehead.

Associate recipients from the nursing degree program at Morehead State University make $5,078 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a associate in nursing from Morehead State University

10

Hopkinsville Community College
Hopkinsville, KY

52 Annual Graduates

$65,979 Median Starting Salary

Located in the distant town of Hopkinsville, Hopkinsville Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $65,979 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in nursing from Hopkinsville Community College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Mississippi	143	1,269
Georgia	121	1,473
Florida	121	9,083
North Carolina	120	2,538
Arkansas	105	1,212
Tennessee	102	1,235
Virginia	97	2,569
West Virginia	92	813
Louisiana	80	966
South Carolina	77	1,223
Alabama	69	2,116

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	1,937

Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health Professions	529
Health & Medical Administrative Services	209
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	171
Health Sciences & Services	63
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	44
Dental Support Services	43
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	36
Mental & Social Health Services	19
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	1

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.