ADN Programs in Houston 2026: Cost, NCLEX Pass Rates & Top Community Colleges

ADN Programs in Houston Overview

Short answer: Houston runs three big associate degree in nursing schools near me-quality community college ADN programs — Houston Community College (HCC), San Jacinto College, and Lone Star College. All three are CCNE or ACEN accredited. All three take roughly 21 months. All three sit students for the NCLEX-RN. Tuition runs $4,200 to $12,800 total. That's it. That's the short list.

Houston isn't a soft market for new nurses. The Texas Medical Center alone employs 120,000 healthcare workers — more than the population of most U.S. cities. Memorial Hermann, MD Anderson, Methodist, Texas Children's, and Houston Methodist hire roughly 2,800 new RNs every year. New ADN grads in the metro start at $74,000 to $82,000 depending on shift differentials and the unit. That's higher than the national ADN median by about $6,000.

Three things separate Houston's ADN landscape from other Texas metros. First, sheer volume — HCC alone graduates 450+ ADN students a year across six campuses. Second, the Texas Medical Center pipeline: nearly every Houston ADN program runs clinical rotations through TMC facilities, which means your senior practicum doubles as a job interview. Third, fast ADN-to-BSN articulation through UT Arlington's Academic Partnership program — a 16-month online bridge for $9,750 that most Houston nurses use to upgrade within 2 years of licensure.

The catch: Houston ADN admissions are competitive. HCC's nursing program received roughly 1,400 applications for 240 seats in fall 2024. San Jacinto's central campus took 96 students from 600+ applicants. Lone Star's CyFair campus is even tighter. TEAS scores matter. So does GPA. So does whether you already work as a CNA or LVN — most Houston programs award bonus points for prior clinical experience.

Here's the thing nobody tells you at the info session: the cheapest ADN isn't always the best ADN. San Jac costs about $5,400 total for in-district students. HCC runs $4,200 in-district. Lone Star is $4,800. But if you live in Katy and commute to HCC's central campus daily, you'll burn $3,000 in gas and parking over two years. Pick the program closest to your home or your hospital — the difference between programs is far smaller than the difference between a 15-minute and a 45-minute commute when you're working nights.

Worth knowing: Houston's ADN job market favors graduates who already have hospital connections. CNA experience at HCA, Memorial Hermann, or Methodist before nursing school often converts directly to an RN offer at graduation. New grads without prior hospital work tend to start at smaller LTACs, rehab centers, or skilled-nursing facilities, then jump to the big hospital systems after 12-18 months of bedside experience.

HCC ADN Program: Houston Community College

The hcc adn program is the largest ADN in Houston by enrollment — roughly 450 students graduate per year across the Coleman College for Health Sciences and the John B. Coleman campus. ACEN-accredited. Total program length: 5 semesters, including a prep semester. NCLEX-RN pass rate: 89.7% in 2024.

Cost is the headline. In-district Houston residents pay $4,200 in tuition and fees for the entire ADN. Out-of-district Texas residents pay $7,800. Add $1,200 for uniforms, books, NCLEX prep, and lab fees. So the all-in number for a Houston resident is roughly $5,400 — the cheapest legitimate ADN path in the metro.

Admission requirements: TEAS score of 58 or higher (proficient level), prerequisites in Anatomy & Physiology I+II, Microbiology, and English Composition completed with a C or better, minimum 2.5 GPA, current Texas residency, and BLS certification before clinical rotations begin. HCC also awards bonus points for prior healthcare work — CNA, LVN, or EMT certification.

The structure: prep semester covers nutrition, pharmacology basics, and patient care fundamentals. First nursing semester drops you into med-surg clinicals at Memorial Hermann or LBJ Hospital. Second semester adds OB/peds and psychiatric nursing. Third semester is critical care and community health. Final semester is a 240-hour preceptorship at a Houston hospital — most students use this as their hiring foothold.

What HCC does better than most: scheduling flexibility. The Coleman College runs day, evening, and hybrid tracks. Working CNAs and LVNs can stay employed through the program by picking the evening cohort. Most other Houston ADN programs are day-only.

The honest downside: HCC's class sizes are larger than San Jac or Lone Star, which means less individual faculty attention and more competition for the best clinical placements. Students who thrive at HCC are self-directed studiers who don't need hand-holding. If you need close mentorship, San Jac's smaller cohorts may be a better fit.

San Jac ADN Program: Highest NCLEX Pass Rate in Houston

The san jac adn program runs out of San Jacinto College's central, north, and south campuses. NCLEX-RN pass rate: 94.4% in 2024 — the highest of any ADN in the Houston metro. ACEN-accredited. Cohort size: 96 students at central, 60 at north, 60 at south. 18-month, four-semester structure.

San Jac admits twice a year — fall and spring starts. Application deadlines fall in February (for fall start) and September (for spring start). Roughly 600 applications come in for the central campus's 96 seats. The cutoff TEAS score in 2024 was 72 — well above the 58 minimum. GPAs of admitted students averaged 3.4. Prior CNA or LVN experience added enough bonus points to flip borderline applications.

Total cost: roughly $5,400 in-district. Out-of-district residents pay $8,200. The program includes a built-in NCLEX prep block in the final semester — HESI Exit Exam, Kaplan review modules, and a mandatory 80-hour board prep that pays off in the 94% pass rate.

What sets San Jac apart: clinical placements. Central campus students rotate through Memorial Hermann Southeast, Houston Methodist Clear Lake, and Bayshore Medical Center. North campus students cover Memorial Hermann Northeast and Methodist Willowbrook. South campus serves UTMB Galveston and Clear Lake Regional. These are real hospitals with active hiring pipelines — students who perform well in clinicals get offers before graduation.

The catch: San Jac's small cohorts mean intense competition for seats. If you're applying with a TEAS score under 70 or a GPA under 3.2, your odds drop fast. The waitlist is rarely useful — students who don't get in directly tend to enroll at HCC or Lone Star instead.

Fair warning on commute: San Jac's three campuses are 25-45 minutes apart in Houston traffic. Once you're assigned to a clinical rotation, you don't get to switch campuses. Pick the campus closest to your home AND your likely future employer — if you're targeting Methodist Willowbrook for your first job, apply to San Jac North, not Central.

Lone Star College ADN Program: North Houston Coverage

The lone star college adn program serves north Houston, the Woodlands, Spring, Tomball, Cypress, and Montgomery County. ACEN-accredited. NCLEX-RN pass rate: 91.2% in 2024. Four ADN campuses — CyFair, Tomball, Montgomery, and Kingwood — each running independent cohorts of 40-60 students.

Tuition is $4,800 in-district for the full program. Out-of-district Texas residents pay $7,400. Add $1,100 for books, uniforms, board exam fees, and a HESI license. So $5,900 all-in for a north-Houston resident.

Lone Star's strength is geographic. If you live in Spring, the Woodlands, Magnolia, Tomball, Cypress, or anywhere along the Highway 290 corridor, the 25-mile drive south to HCC Coleman or east to San Jac Central is brutal. Lone Star's CyFair campus is 8 minutes off the Grand Parkway. Tomball is even closer for FM-2920 residents. That commute savings adds up to 200-300 hours of driving over the 21-month program.

Admission stats from 2024: average TEAS score of admitted students was 68, average GPA was 3.1, roughly 65% of admitted students held a prior healthcare credential (CNA, LVN, EMT, MA, or paramedic). CyFair is the most competitive of the four Lone Star campuses. Montgomery is the most accessible — slightly lower stats, fewer applicants, and faster waitlist movement.

Clinical placements: Memorial Hermann The Woodlands, Houston Methodist The Woodlands, HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress, Texas Children's The Woodlands. North-Houston families recognize all of these — and so do hiring managers, who often pull new grads directly from Lone Star clinical rotations.

One thing to plan around: Lone Star's program intentionally front-loads didactic coursework. The first two semesters are heavy on lectures, lab simulations, and HESI exams. Clinicals don't start until semester three. That structure rewards students who can absorb classroom material early — but frustrates hands-on learners who want patient contact from day one. If you learn best at the bedside, San Jac's earlier clinical exposure may be a better fit.

For Houston-area test takers, Lone Star also runs the most accessible the teas testing center calendar — TEAS dates run monthly at CyFair and Tomball, while HCC only offers TEAS quarterly. That alone can shave 2-3 months off your application timeline if your TEAS score is the bottleneck.

Accelerated Nursing Programs Houston: ABSN & Bridge Options

If you already hold a bachelor's degree in something non-nursing — biology, business, English — Houston's accelerated nursing programs houston options skip the ADN entirely and put you on the BSN track in 12-16 months. The big three: UT Health Houston Cizik (12-month ABSN, $52,000), Texas Woman's University Houston (15-month ABSN, $58,000), and Chamberlain Houston (16-month ABSN, $87,000).

Accelerated programs in Houston Texas are full-time. You don't work during these programs. Clinicals run 4-5 days a week. Coursework is compressed — a typical pharmacology course covers in 6 weeks what a traditional BSN spreads across a semester. Students who succeed typically have prior science prerequisites done (or willing to retake them in a 12-week summer block before ABSN starts).

The 80% BSN-required rule at Magnet hospitals applies here too. Memorial Hermann, MD Anderson, Houston Methodist, and Texas Children's all preferentially hire BSN-prepared nurses — even though they hire plenty of ADNs at the bedside. If you're a second-career professional with a bachelor's already, the ABSN math usually beats the ADN-then-bridge math by 12-18 months of total time.

One Houston-specific quirk: Texas residency matters enormously for tuition. UT Health Houston charges Texas residents $52,000 for the 12-month ABSN. Out-of-state students pay $112,000. If you can establish Texas residency before applying (1 year of state tax filing, Texas driver's license, voter registration), the savings exceed $60,000.

For working LVNs in Houston, an LVN-to-ADN or LVN-to-BSN bridge often beats a fresh ABSN. San Jacinto runs an LVN-to-ADN track in 12 months. UT Arlington offers an online LVN-to-BSN bridge that some Houston LVNs complete while keeping their current bedside job. The bridge route is roughly half the cost of an ABSN, and you keep earning during the program.

Worth knowing about timing: most Houston ABSN cohorts start in January or May. Application windows close 6-8 months before the start. UT Health's January 2026 cohort closed applications in May 2025. If you're planning around a 2026 ABSN start, your prerequisites and TEAS need to be done by spring 2025 at the latest.

TEAS & Admission Requirements for Houston ADN Programs

The ATI TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) is the standard pre-admission test for every ADN in Houston. Four sections: Reading, Math, Science, English & Language Usage. Total testing time: 209 minutes. The minimum passing threshold at most Houston programs is 58 (proficient level) — but the average admitted student scores 65-72. See our ati teas prep guide for full breakdown.

Here's what nobody tells you about the TEAS in Houston: the science section is the killer. Anatomy and physiology questions account for roughly 50% of the science score, with chemistry, biology, and scientific reasoning splitting the rest. Most failing scores come from this section. Plan 60-80 hours of focused TEAS science prep before sitting for the test. The Mometrix and ATI study manuals are the standards.

Prerequisite courses you'll need before applying: Anatomy & Physiology I (4 credits), Anatomy & Physiology II (4 credits), Microbiology (4 credits), English Composition I (3 credits), and one math course (usually College Algebra or Statistics). All prerequisites must be completed within 5 years for most Houston programs — older A&P credits expire and you'll need to retake.

The competitive applicant profile in Houston for fall 2024 admission looked like this: TEAS score 68, cumulative GPA 3.2, prerequisite GPA 3.4, prior healthcare credential (CNA most common), strong personal statement, two recommendations from clinical instructors or nurse managers. Below that profile, your odds drop significantly at San Jac central, Lone Star CyFair, and HCC Coleman main.

Don't skip the background check timing. Texas BON requires fingerprinting through MorphoTrust at $44 — and the results take 4-6 weeks. Submit fingerprints when you start your application, not after acceptance. A delayed background check has cost Houston students their cohort spot more times than admissions advisors will admit.

Application fees range from $25 to $100 per program. Apply to at least three Houston ADN programs to maximize your odds — most successful students get admitted to one and waitlisted at two. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. HCC central, San Jac central, and Lone Star CyFair simultaneously is the standard play for competitive applicants.

One last thing on the TEAS retake policy: you can retake the TEAS once every 30 days at most Houston testing centers, with a hard cap of three attempts per academic year. Programs generally accept your highest score — but San Jacinto looks at the average of all attempts within 24 months. If your first TEAS was a 55 and you retake to 72, San Jac counts it as a 63.5. HCC and Lone Star don't average. Pick your retake strategy by your target school.

ADN to BSN Bridge from Houston: The 16-Month Path

The ADN-to-BSN bridge is the single most important decision a Houston ADN grad makes in their first year of practice. The default play: UT Arlington's online adn to bsn programs Academic Partnership program. $9,750 total tuition for Texas residents. 16-month online format. CCNE-accredited. Most Houston ADN grads start the bridge within 6 months of NCLEX licensure.

Why so many Houston nurses use UTA: it's tied to the Texas Medical Center hiring rhythm. Memorial Hermann, Methodist, and Texas Children's all bump RN pay by $4,000-$8,000 per year when you complete a BSN. The bridge pays for itself in 14-18 months of post-completion salary. That's faster ROI than any other professional credential in healthcare.

Alternatives to UTA for Houston bridges: University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Galveston runs an online ADN-to-BSN, costs $11,400. Texas Woman's University Houston has a campus-based bridge at $14,200. Western Governors University offers a competency-based national program ($8,590-$12,885) — slightly cheaper, slightly faster than UTA if you can move fast through coursework.

One mistake new Houston RNs make: waiting too long to start the bridge. The longer you wait after licensure, the harder it gets to return to academic work. Statistics, research methods, and pathophysiology become much harder after 3-4 years away from school. The optimal start window is 6-12 months post-NCLEX — long enough to settle into bedside practice, short enough to stay in study habits.

What about accelerated bsn program online bridge formats? A few schools (Walden, Capella) offer 12-month ADN-to-BSN bridges with self-paced competency models. These work for self-disciplined nurses who can churn through coursework. They don't work for nurses who need cohort accountability — completion rates drop to 50% at self-paced schools versus 75-80% at semester-based ones.

Employer tuition reimbursement makes the bridge nearly free at most Houston hospital systems. Memorial Hermann reimburses up to $5,250 per year tax-free (IRS Section 127 limit). Houston Methodist offers tuition-forgiveness contracts — work 2 years post-BSN and they cover 100% of tuition. HCA pays $3,000 per year toward CCNE-accredited bridges. Always submit your school's accreditation letter to HR before enrolling — the wrong school disqualifies the benefit.

Best Nursing Schools in Houston: Picking the Right Program

The phrase best nursing schools in houston gets thrown around loosely. The honest ranking depends on what you optimize for: cost, NCLEX pass rate, commute, employer pipeline, or grad-school articulation. Each metric points to a different school.

For pure NCLEX pass rate, San Jacinto wins — 94.4% in 2024. For lowest cost, HCC wins — $4,200 in-district. For north-Houston coverage, Lone Star CyFair or Tomball wins. For Bay Area / Clear Lake / Galveston commuters, Galveston College wins. For BSN-track direct, UT Health Houston Cizik wins for residents who already hold a bachelor's degree.

The mistake most prospective Houston nursing students make: chasing rankings instead of fit. A 94% NCLEX pass rate at San Jac means nothing if you live in Cypress and can't reliably commute to clinical rotations in Pasadena three days a week. A $4,200 tuition at HCC means nothing if you drop out by semester three because the cohort size is too large for your learning style.

Pick on three criteria. First, geographic fit — the campus must be a sub-30-minute commute from your home OR your current employer, not both. Second, cohort size — small (San Jac at 60-96, Galveston at 45) for hands-on learners who need mentorship, large (HCC at 240) for self-directed students who learn from independent study. Third, clinical pipeline — pick the program whose clinical placements match your target post-grad employer. If you want to work at Methodist Willowbrook, apply to San Jac North or Lone Star CyFair, not San Jac South.

One more honest signal: talk to current students before applying. Every Houston ADN program lists a current cohort representative on their website. Send three emails. Ask about workload, faculty availability, clinical placement quality, and post-graduation hiring. Students will tell you what admissions officers won't.

For applicants comparing Houston to other Texas metros, ADN programs in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin have similar tuition and similar NCLEX pass rates — but Houston's clinical pipeline through the Texas Medical Center is unmatched. Memorial Hermann alone hires more new RNs per year than the entire Dallas-Fort Worth public hospital system combined. If your career goal is academic medicine, cancer care, transplant nursing, or cardiac specialty, Houston's TMC pipeline is the deepest in the country. See our nursing programs in dallas tx comparison for the Dallas alternative.