2025 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Carolina

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 reviewed 14 schools in South Carolina to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,138 associate degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

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.

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

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 schools for nursing students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 South Carolina list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in South Carolina

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

10 Top South Carolina Schools for an Associate in Nursing

1

Greenville Technical College
Greenville, SC

154 Annual Graduates

$72,879 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat Greenville Technical College if you want to pursue an associate degree in nursing. GTC is a fairly large public college located in the city of Greenville.

Those nursing students who get their associate degree from Greenville Technical College receive $3,421 more than the average nursing graduate.

More information about a associate in nursing from Greenville Technical College

2

Horry-Georgetown Technical College
Conway, SC

112 Annual Graduates

$66,034 Median Starting Salary

Horry-Georgetown Technical College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. Horry-Georgetown Technical College is a moderately-sized public college located in the small city of Conway.

Associate students who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $66,034 for their early career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Horry-Georgetown Technical College

3

Trident Technical College
Charleston, SC

171 Annual Graduates

$67,607 Median Starting Salary

Trident Technical College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. Located in the city of Charleston, Trident Technical College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $67,607 for their early career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Trident Technical College

4

Midlands Technical College
West Columbia, SC

87 Annual Graduates

$70,571 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to take a look at Midlands Technical College. Located in the large suburb of West Columbia, MTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $70,571 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Midlands Technical College

5

Florence-Darlington Technical College
Florence, SC

56 Annual Graduates

Florence-Darlington Technical College is a small public college located in the rural area of Florence.More information about a associate in nursing from Florence-Darlington Technical College

6

Piedmont Technical College
Greenwood, SC

71 Annual Graduates

$69,883 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Greenwood, Piedmont Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Soon after graduation, nursing associate recipients usually make about $69,883 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a associate in nursing from Piedmont Technical College

7

Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College
Orangeburg, SC

65 Annual Graduates

$72,237 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Orangeburg, OCtech is a public college with a small student population.

Associate recipients from the nursing major at Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College earn $2,779 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in nursing from Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College

8

Tri-County Technical College
Pendleton, SC

94 Annual Graduates

$73,667 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Pendleton, TCTC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Nursing associate degree recipients from Tri-County Technical College receive an earnings boost of about $4,209 over the typical income of nursing majors.

More information about a associate in nursing from Tri-County Technical College

9

Central Carolina Technical College
Sumter, SC

86 Annual Graduates

$68,914 Median Starting Salary

Central Carolina is a small public college located in the city of Sumter.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $68,914 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in nursing from Central Carolina Technical College

10

Aiken Technical College
Graniteville, SC

52 Annual Graduates

$72,146 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Graniteville, Aiken Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Nursing associate degree recipients from Aiken Technical College get an earnings boost of approximately $2,688 over the typical income of nursing graduates.

More information about a associate in nursing from Aiken Technical 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
Kentucky	90	1,848
Louisiana	80	966
Alabama	69	2,116

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	1,138

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Allied Health Professions	425
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	172
Dental Support Services	99
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	60
Health & Medical Administrative Services	46
Public Health	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.