Chester, Pennsylvania has 5 accredited schools offering nursing programs, with tuition ranging from $6,930 to $23,995 per year for indexed programs. Chester has a population of about 33,209. Median household income is $39,809 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 13.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area, the top-earning nursing-related role is Nurse Anesthetist at a median $238,540 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Nursing Schools to Chester
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer nursing programs near Chester, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Chester city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Chester.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
66%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$70,920
Avg net price
$25,759/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 78%
- Programs offered: 82
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Pennsylvania schools on the Pennsylvania nursing page.
Nursing Wages Near Chester
Chester is part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (BLS area code 37980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Pennsylvania statewide.
| Occupation |
Median Wage |
Source |
COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
| Registered Nurse |
$101,180 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
$98,616 |
| Licensed Practical Nurse |
$70,710 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
$68,918 |
| Nurse Anesthetist |
$238,540 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
$232,495 |
| Nurse Midwife |
$77,620 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
$75,653 |
| Nurse Practitioner |
$135,700 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
$132,261 |
| Nursing Assistant |
$46,220 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
$45,049 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Chester at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
33,209 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$39,809 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
13.3% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
102.6 (above U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
| Nursing-related employment in Delaware County |
17,622 workers, 216 establishments |
BLS QCEW 2024 annual |
Other Chester-Area Cities With Nursing Programs
- Wilmington, DE – 11.3 mi away (71,442 pop)
- Camden, NJ – 15.4 mi away (74,420 pop)
- Philadelphia, PA – 16.9 mi away (5,591,554 pop)
- Norristown, PA – 19.2 mi away (34,370 pop)
- Newark, DE – 23.5 mi away (33,398 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited nursing schools are near Chester, PA?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering nursing programs near Chester. The closest is Widener University in Chester, PA (1.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Delaware County Community College (8.4 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying nursing roles near Chester?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying nursing-related roles near Chester are: Nurse Anesthetist ($238,540), Nurse Practitioner ($135,700), Registered Nurse ($101,180). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Pennsylvania statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Wilmington instead of Chester?
Wilmington, DE is 11.3 miles from Chester and has its own set of local nursing programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Chester an affordable place to study nursing?
Chester’s median household income of $39,809 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Chester while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Pennsylvania public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Learn More About Nursing Programs
Other Programs Available in Chester
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Chester:
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- Higher Education Administration programs in Chester, PA
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- Art History programs in Chester, PA
- Creative Writing programs in Chester, PA
- Environmental Science programs in Chester, PA
- Nutrition programs in Chester, PA
- Theology programs in Chester, PA
- Library Science programs in Chester, PA
- Applied Behavior Analysis programs in Chester, PA
- Medical Billing and Coding programs in Chester, PA
- Medical Assistant programs in Chester, PA
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- Health Science programs in Chester, PA
- Occupational Safety and Health programs in Chester, PA
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- Sustainability Management programs in Chester, PA
- Behavioral Health Science programs in Chester, PA
- Mental Health Counseling programs in Chester, PA
- Substance Abuse Counseling programs in Chester, PA
- Journalism programs in Chester, PA
- Public Relations programs in Chester, PA
- Communication Disorders programs in Chester, PA
- Speech Pathology programs in Chester, PA
- Technical Communication programs in Chester, PA
- Professional Writing programs in Chester, PA
- Strategic Communications programs in Chester, PA
- Business Development programs in Chester, PA
- Construction Management programs in Chester, PA
- Economics programs in Chester, PA
- Financial Technology programs in Chester, PA
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- Health Information Management programs in Chester, PA
- Hospitality Management programs in Chester, PA
- International Business programs in Chester, PA
- Organizational Leadership programs in Chester, PA
- Management Information Systems programs in Chester, PA
- Nonprofit Management programs in Chester, PA
- Operations Management programs in Chester, PA
- Public Administration programs in Chester, PA
- Real Estate programs in Chester, PA
- Recreation Management programs in Chester, PA
- Retail Management programs in Chester, PA
- Risk Management programs in Chester, PA
- Statistics programs in Chester, PA
- Taxation programs in Chester, PA
- Corrections programs in Chester, PA
- Crime Analysis programs in Chester, PA
- Criminal Justice Administration programs in Chester, PA
- Criminology programs in Chester, PA
- Cybercrime programs in Chester, PA
- Emergency Management programs in Chester, PA
- Fire Science programs in Chester, PA
- Forensic Science programs in Chester, PA
- Legal Services programs in Chester, PA
- Legal Studies programs in Chester, PA
- Paralegal programs in Chester, PA
- Security Management programs in Chester, PA
- Cloud Computing programs in Chester, PA
- Computer Engineering programs in Chester, PA
- Innovation programs in Chester, PA
- Mobile App Development programs in Chester, PA
- Software Development programs in Chester, PA
- User Experience programs in Chester, PA
- Web Development programs in Chester, PA
- Artificial Intelligence programs in Chester, PA
- Machine Learning programs in Chester, PA
- Supply Chain Management programs in Chester, PA
- Data Analytics programs in Chester, PA
- Public Health programs in Chester, PA
- Human Resources programs in Chester, PA
- Project Management programs in Chester, PA
- Special Education programs in Chester, PA
- Homeland Security programs in Chester, PA
- Marketing programs in Chester, PA
- Finance programs in Chester, PA
- Kinesiology programs in Chester, PA
- Sports Management programs in Chester, PA
- Early Childhood Education programs in Chester, PA
- Elementary Education programs in Chester, PA
- Biology programs in Chester, PA
- Communications programs in Chester, PA
- Graphic Design programs in Chester, PA
- Human Services programs in Chester, PA
- MBA programs in Chester, PA
- Criminal Justice programs in Chester, PA
- Business Administration programs in Chester, PA
- Computer Science programs in Chester, PA
- Psychology programs in Chester, PA
- Education programs in Chester, PA
- Engineering programs in Chester, PA
- Technology programs in Chester, PA
- Liberal Arts programs in Chester, PA
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- Cybersecurity programs in Chester, PA
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- Social Work programs in Chester, PA
- Counseling programs in Chester, PA
Data verified: September 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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