2025 Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

an associate degree in practical nursing & nursing assistants is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #57 out of 328 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for practical nursing & nursing assistants students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 308 associate degrees in practical nursing & nursing assistants to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants School for Your Associate Degree

The practical nursing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality practical 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

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 host of various 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 much a school focuses on practical nursing & nursing assistants students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of practical nursing & nursing assistants 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.
• Student Debt - How much debt practical nursing & nursing assistants 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 practical nursing & nursing assistants related body.

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

More Ways to Rank Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Schools

The practical 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 Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants in the Southwest Region

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

Top Southwest Region Schools for an Associate in Practical Nursing

1

Del Mar College
Corpus Christi, TX

128 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in practical nursing & nursing assistants has to check out Del Mar College. Located in the large city of Corpus Christi, DMC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in practical nursing & nursing assistants from Del Mar College

2

Coconino Community College
Flagstaff, AZ

41 Annual Graduates

$36,719 Median Starting Salary

Coconino Community College is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in an associate degree in practical nursing & nursing assistants. Located in the rural area of Flagstaff, Coconino Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Associate students who receive their degree from the practical nursing program earn about $36,719 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in practical nursing & nursing assistants from Coconino Community College

3

Central Oklahoma College
Oklahoma City, OK

30 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Central Oklahoma College if you want to pursue an associate degree in practical nursing & nursing assistants. Central Oklahoma College is a fairly small private for-profit college located in the city of Oklahoma City.More information about a associate in practical nursing & nursing assistants from Central Oklahoma College

4

American Institute of Medical Technology
Tulsa, OK

42 Annual Graduates

American Institute of Medical Technology is a great option for individuals pursuing an associate degree in practical nursing & nursing assistants. American Institute of Medical Technology is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Tulsa.More information about a associate in practical nursing & nursing assistants from American Institute of Medical Technology

5

Platt College - Tulsa
Tulsa, OK

67 Annual Graduates

$45,301 Median Starting Salary

Platt College - Tulsa is a fairly small private for-profit college located in the large city of Tulsa.

Associate recipients from the practical nursing & nursing assistants degree program at Platt College - Tulsa get $3,616 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a associate in practical nursing & nursing assistants from Platt College - Tulsa

Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges by State

Explore the best practical nursing & nursing assistants colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Texas	200	97
Arizona	169	57
New Mexico	140	0
Oklahoma	136	33

View All Rankings >

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Related Rankings by Major

Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants is one of 34 different types of Health Professions programs to choose from.

Practical Nursing Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training	267
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide	41

Most Popular Majors Related to Practical Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Nursing	10,117
Allied Health Professions	4,140
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	2,002
Health & Medical Administrative Services	1,530
Health Sciences & Services	1,280
Dental Support Services	754
Health/Medical Prep Programs	685
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	416
Mental & Social Health Services	365
Public Health	62

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). More about our data sources and methodologies.