Kalamazoo, MI (population: 71,826) has six nursing assistant schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Michigan Career and Technical Institute, the highest ranked school in this group with a nursing assistant program, has a total student population of 224. It is the 699th highest ranked school in the USA and the 13th highest in the state of Michigan (#1 is Kalamazoo College).
Nursing Assistant students from Kalamazoo schools who go on to become nursing assistants, medical assistants, medical office assistants, physician assistants, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 1,438,010 people working as nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $24,980. Also, Physical therapist aides make on average $24,990 per year and there are about 44,160 of them employed in the US today.
Kalamazoo lies in Kalamazoo county, which is one of the 62 counties in Michigan. Overall, the Kalamazoo-Portage area has 134,190 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1.9% unemployment rate, $18.50/hr average worker wage, and a $38,480 average annual salary.
Of the 6 nursing assistant schools with a 100-mile radius of Kalamazoo, only 2 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Everest Institute-Grand Rapids comes out as the most expensive ($27,624/yr) for nursing assistant students, with Michigan Career and Technical Institute as the lowest, reported at only $3,012/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Kalamazoo |
| Portage | MI | 46,404 | 1 | 28.2817 | 4 | 4.8 miles |
| Battle Creek | MI | 51,817 | 3 | 15.2077 | 137 | 18.5 miles |
| Elkhart | IN | 52,987 | 2 | 5.92537 | 11 | 44.6 miles |
| Grand Rapids | MI | 193,337 | 12 | 26.8368 | 469 | 47.9 miles |
| Goshen | IN | - | 1 | 67.9828 | 54 | 49.2 miles |
| Mishawaka | IN | 51,149 | 2 | 17.1791 | 86 | 51.1 miles |
| Notre Dame | IN | - | 1 | 49.129 | 10 | 51.5 miles |
| Spring Arbor | MI | - | 1 | 60.8655 | 91 | 53.3 miles |
| South Bend | IN | 103,173 | 4 | 21.2634 | 164 | 53.7 miles |
| Lansing | MI | 112,579 | 5 | 18.9833 | 209 | 61.2 miles |
| East Lansing | MI | 45,575 | 2 | 19.4594 | 4 | 65.3 miles |
| Muskegon | MI | - | 2 | 11.4257 | 169 | 74.6 miles |
| Donaldson | IN | - | 1 | 12.0497 | 39 | 76.8 miles |
| Michigan City | IN | - | 1 | 15.3669 | 17 | 77.6 miles |
| Fort Wayne | IN | 253,250 | 14 | 20.2986 | 342 | 86.2 miles |
| North Manchester | IN | - | 1 | 55.0629 | 70 | 88.3 miles |
| Alma | MI | - | 1 | 68.5081 | 54 | 90.1 miles |
| Valparaiso | IN | - | 2 | 49.1256 | 121 | 93.7 miles |
| Ann Arbor | MI | 113,880 | 5 | 27.5859 | 183 | 95.2 miles |
| Hobart | IN | - | 1 | 7.66406 | 4 | 99.8 miles |