2025 Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Ranked #3 in popularity, registered nursing is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 114 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 11,761 associate degrees in registered nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Registered Nursing School for Your Associate Degree

The registered nursing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. 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 include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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 registered nursing students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of registered nursing students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• 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.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized registered nursing related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for registered 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 Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Registered Nursing in the Middle Atlantic Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for registered nursing students seeking a an associate degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

22 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for an Associate in Registered Nursing

1

Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences
Lancaster, PA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

234 Annual Graduates

Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing an associate degree in registered nursing. PA College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Lancaster.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences

2

SUNY Westchester Community College
Valhalla, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

49 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in registered nursing has to look into SUNY Westchester Community College. SUNY Westchester Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the large suburb of Valhalla.More information about a associate in registered nursing from SUNY Westchester Community College

3

College of Staten Island CUNY
Staten Island, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

77 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in registered nursing needs to take a look at College of Staten Island CUNY. Located in the large city of Staten Island, CSI is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from College of Staten Island CUNY

4

Delaware Technical Community College - Terry
Dover, DE

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

315 Annual Graduates

Delaware Technical Community College - Terry is a great option for students pursuing an associate degree in registered nursing. Located in the small city of Dover, Delaware Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Delaware Technical Community College - Terry

5

Nassau Community College
Garden City, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

143 Annual Graduates

Nassau Community College is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Garden City.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Nassau Community College

6

Harrisburg Area Community College
Harrisburg, PA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

462 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Harrisburg, HACC is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Harrisburg Area Community College

7

Delaware County Community College
Media, PA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

135 Annual Graduates

Delaware County Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Media.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Delaware County Community College

8

Community College of Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

232 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Baltimore, CCBC is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Community College of Baltimore County

9

Suffolk County Community College
Selden, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

185 Annual Graduates

Suffolk County Community College is a very large public college located in the suburb of Selden.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Suffolk County Community College

10

Union County College
Cranford, NJ

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

296 Annual Graduates

Union County College is a medium-sized public college located in the large suburb of Cranford.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Union County College

11

Helene Fuld College of Nursing
New York, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

170 Annual Graduates

HFCN is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of New York.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Helene Fuld College of Nursing

12

Baltimore City Community College
Baltimore, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

28 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Baltimore, Baltimore City Community College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Baltimore City Community College

13

Monroe College
Bronx, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

69 Annual Graduates

Monroe College is a moderately-sized private for-profit college located in the city of Bronx.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Monroe College

14

Community College of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

121 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Philadelphia, Community College of Philadelphia is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Community College of Philadelphia

15

Essex County College
Newark, NJ

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

35 Annual Graduates

Essex is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Newark.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Essex County College

16

Community College of Allegheny County
Pittsburgh, PA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

308 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, CCAC is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Community College of Allegheny County

17

Borough of Manhattan Community College
New York, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

149 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, BMCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Borough of Manhattan Community College

18

Bergen Community College
Paramus, NJ

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

88 Annual Graduates

Bergen Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Paramus.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Bergen Community College

19

Excelsior University
Albany, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

625 Annual Graduates

Excelsior University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Albany.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Excelsior University

20

Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

116 Annual Graduates

OCC is a moderately-sized public college located in the suburb of Toms River.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Ocean County College

21

Trocaire College
Buffalo, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

302 Annual Graduates

Trocaire is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Buffalo.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Trocaire College

22

Rockland Community College
Suffern, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

95 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Suffern, Rockland Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in registered nursing from Rockland Community College

Rest of the Top Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Registered Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank	College	Location
23	Harcum College	Bryn Mawr, PA
24	Brookdale Community College	Lincroft, NJ
25	Raritan Valley Community College	Branchburg, NJ
26	Orange County Community College	Middletown, NY
27	Queensborough Community College	Bayside, NY
28	Howard Community College	Columbia, MD
29	Allegany College of Maryland	Cumberland, MD
30	Montgomery College	Rockville, MD
31	Prince George’s Community College	Largo, MD
32	Lehigh Carbon Community College	Schnecksville, PA
33	Maria College of Albany	Albany, NY
34	LaGuardia Community College	Long Island City, NY
35	Eastern International College - Jersey City	Jersey City, NJ
36	Anne Arundel Community College	Arnold, MD
37	New York City College of Technology	Brooklyn, NY
38	County College of Morris	Randolph, NJ

Best Registered Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best registered nursing schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	429	6,617
Pennsylvania	379	2,443
New Jersey	249	2,407
Maryland	221	1,466
Delaware	96	325

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Registered Nursing

Registered Nursing is one of 23 different types of Nursing programs to choose from.

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.