Rankings · Checked November 2026
Temple College in Temple, TX ranks first, with a score of 76 of 100, ahead of College of the Redwoods and Modesto Junior College. 425 programs at 417 schools in 49 states fit this list: programs that name the NHA, ASCP, AMT or NCCT exam, or California's CPT I. Published prices run from $180 to $11,780, with a median of $1,510. The median stated length is 13 weeks.
Ranked by certification prep first: programs that include the exam fee or a voucher, then programs that prepare you for more than one national exam, then the rest; within each group, highest score first. One program per school.
Temple, TX · Public · Temple College on the Texas list
Phlebotomy Technician
Best for: students who want plenty of hands-on time
Temple College: dates, cost and how to apply: Phlebotomy Technician, on the school's site
Eureka, CA · Public · College of the Redwoods on the California list
Phlebotomy
Best for: sitting a national exam with the fee covered
Open the College of the Redwoods course details: Phlebotomy, on the school's site
Modesto, CA · Public · Modesto Junior College on the California list
MJC Certified Phlebotomy Technician 1 Program
Best for: students who want the exam voucher bundled in
Phlebotomy Technician, O.S.A.
Best for: sitting a national exam with the fee covered
Brenham, TX · Blinn College on the Texas list
Phlebotomy Technician
Best for: certifying without a separate exam bill
See Blinn College's course page: Phlebotomy Technician, on the school's site
Carthage, TX · Public · Panola College on the Texas list
Phlebotomy
Best for: the most supervised practice before your first job
Panola College: dates, cost and how to apply: Phlebotomy, on the school's site
Midland, TX · Public · Midland College on the Texas list
Phlebotomy
Best for: certifying without a separate exam bill
Open the Midland College course details: Phlebotomy, on the school's site
St. Albans, VT · Northwest Career & Technical Center on the Vermont list
Phlebotomy Training & Certification
Best for: sitting a national exam with the fee covered
South Charleston, WV · Public · BridgeValley Community and Technical College on the West Virginia list
Phlebotomy Technician Non-Credit Program
Best for: the most supervised practice before your first job
Levelland, TX · Public · South Plains College on the Texas list
Phlebotomy
Best for: testing for certification right after class
See South Plains College's course page: Phlebotomy, on the school's site
Ranked by certification prep first: programs that include the exam fee or a voucher, then programs that prepare you for more than one national exam, then the rest; within each group, highest score first. One program per school.
Ranked by lowest published cost first. Cost is the program total or the single course fee each school publishes for the whole program, read on the school's own site in November 2026; per-credit rates are never multiplied out. Published costs often leave out the certification exam fee, scrubs, background check and immunizations. One program per school.
| Rank | School | Credential | Length | Externship | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 · $180 | Mayland Community College: Phlebotomy TechnicianSpruce Pine, NC | Non-credit course | 222 hours | 80 hours | $180 |
| #2 · $180 | Nash Community College: Phlebotomy (Continuing Education) - MLA 3022 Phlebotomy ExperienceRocky Mount, NC | Non-credit course | 8 wk | 128 hours | $180 |
| #3 · $180 | Wake Technical Community College: Phlebotomy (PBT-3022A3 Phlebotomy Experience)Raleigh, NC | Non-credit course | 12 wk | 50 hours | $180 |
| #4 · $180 | Wayne Community College: Phlebotomy TechnicianGoldsboro, NC | Non-credit course | Included | $180 | |
| #5 · $184 | Bakersfield College: Certified Phlebotomy Technician (MEDS B55), Job Skills CertificateBakersfield, CA | Certificate | 1 wk | 40 hours | $184 |
| #6 · $185 | Roanoke-Chowan Community College: Phlebotomy Training & ClinicalAhoskie, NC | Non-credit course | 220 hours | 100 hours | $185 |
| #7 · $195 | Davidson-Davie Community College: PhlebotomyThomasville, NC | Non-credit course | 19 wk | $194.50 | |
| #8 · $196 | Wilkes Community College: PhlebotomyWilkesboro, NC | Non-credit course | 212 hours | 104 hours | $195.55 |
Ranked by most clinical externship hours first, as each program's own page states them (November 2026). Ties go to the lower published cost; one program per school.
Every program is scored out of 100 from figures on the school's own pages and federal data. A part a program has no figure for is left out and the others are rescaled, so a missing fact never counts against it.
| Part | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-on practice | 35 | The clinical externship or practicum the program states. 80 or more stated hours scores full marks; a clinical part without stated hours scores 20 of 35; no clinical part scores 0. National exams require documented venipunctures, and an externship is where most students complete them. |
| Certification prep | 25 | 15 points when the program's page names a national phlebotomy exam (NHA, ASCP, AMT, NCCT, ASPT or NPA) or California's CPT I, and 10 more when the exam fee or a voucher is included. |
| Cost | 25 | The whole-program price the school publishes, ranked against every priced program. Per-credit rates are never multiplied out. |
| Track record | 15 | Phlebotomy awards the school reported to the U.S. Department of Education for 2022-23 (IPEDS, CIP 51.1009), on a log scale that reaches full marks at 50. |
No school can certify you as a phlebotomist. National bodies do that: the NHA, ASCP Board of Certification, AMT, NCCT and others. A program’s job is to make you eligible, with the training hours and the documented draws each body asks for, and to get you ready to pass.
That is why this ranking counts the 371 programs, out of 696 checked in November 2026, that name a national exam. Programs that say only that you “may be eligible for national certification” leave you to work out which exam and whether you qualify. The ranking puts programs that include the exam fee or a voucher first, then programs that prepare you for more than one exam, then the rest.
The exams these programs name most often:
| Exam | Certifying body | Programs naming it |
|---|---|---|
| CPT | National Healthcareer Association (NHA) | 202 |
| PBT | ASCP Board of Certification | 132 |
| RPT | American Medical Technologists (AMT) | 48 |
| NCPT | National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) | 35 |
| CPT | American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians (ASPT) | 18 |
Eligibility rules, fees, exam length and renewal for each one are in the phlebotomy certification guide. This page is about choosing the program.
Only 45 of the 371 programs include the exam fee or a voucher. It is worth having, but read the row closely.
Don’t pay extra for an included fee you could buy yourself for less. A bundle is only a saving if the program’s price is otherwise in line, since NHA’s own store lists the CPT exam application at $134.
Each exam asks for a different number of documented draws on live people: 30 venipunctures and 10 capillary sticks for NHA, 50 venipunctures and 10 skin punctures for AMT, and 100 successful unaided venipunctures for ASCP’s Route 2. A program that prepares you for one exam may not give you the draws for another.
| Program | Exams named | Draws or clinical stated |
|---|---|---|
| Blinn College, TX | NHA CPT, exam in course cost | At least 100 live sticks in an 80-hour clinical |
| Miami Valley Career Technology Center, OH | NHA CPT, exam fees in tuition | 125 venipunctures and 15 finger sticks, all on campus |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College, IL | NHA, NPA, ASCP, AMT | 100 unaided collections or 80 clinical hours |
| Calhoun Community College, AL | ASPT, one attempt with the clinical rotation | 100 documented patient draws to sit for the exam |
| Hillsborough College, FL | NHA CPT, one attempt included | 30 venipunctures and 10 capillary sticks in the lab |
| Madison Adult Career Center, OH | AMT RPT, certification fees included | Well over 100 venipunctures in lab and externship |
Programs that name several exams keep your options open. Houston City College prepares students for the AMT RPT, NCCT NCPT, ASCP PBT or NHA CPT. Malcolm X lists four exams, and its 100 unaided collections meet the highest draw count of the group.
If a hospital lab is your goal and you want the ASCP PBT, look for 100 or more documented draws, or a NAACLS-accredited program, which is ASCP’s Route 1. Nash Community College in North Carolina builds the ASCP exam into registration, collecting the $145 fee up front, with 128 clinical hours.
Only a few programs publish their own exam results, and those numbers come from the schools. They are still the best signal you will find of how well a program prepares people.
Small classes swing these numbers: at Madison, a single student out of 15 separates 93% from 100%. A multi-year record, like Cuyahoga’s or BridgeValley’s, tells you more than a single year.
You want one predictable cost. Pick a program that bundles the exam with the course, such as Durham Technical Community College, at $596.25 per course with the NHA exam fee included and the exam on the last day of class.
You are aiming at hospital or reference-lab work. Favor ASCP-eligible programs with long clinical blocks and a stated draw count, and see the programs with externships ranking.
You live in California. You need state certification as well as a national exam. Programs like College of the Redwoods and Modesto Junior College, whose $4,200 fee-based course includes the NHA exam, build in the externship hours the state asks for. Browse California programs.
You are watching cost. An included exam fee is one saving among several; the most affordable phlebotomy programs ranking sorts by price, and the best phlebotomy programs ranking balances price against clinical time.
The number after each state is how many programs on this list it has. Each state page ranks every program there.
Phlebotomy Technician at Temple College ranks first, with a score of 76 of 100. Temple College on the Texas list.
425 programs at 417 schools, checked on each school's own site in November 2026. Texas (40), Ohio (36) and North Carolina (28) have the most.
Among the 195 that publish a whole-program price, from $180 to $11,780, with a median of $1,510. Most prices leave out the exam fee, scrubs, a background check and immunizations. What phlebotomy training costs.
The median stated length is 13 weeks across the 249 programs that give one, and the median stated externship is 100 hours. How long phlebotomy training takes.
Certification prep first: programs that include the exam fee or a voucher, then programs that prepare you for more than one national exam, then the rest; within each group, highest score first. One program per school. The ranking method.
425 of the 425 name a national exam on their own pages: 245 the NHA CPT, 145 the ASCP PBT and 50 the AMT RPT; 52 include the exam fee or a voucher. The certifications compared.
No. A program gives you a certificate of completion and, if it is built right, the training and documented draws a certifying body asks for. You become certified by passing that body's exam. City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College says so plainly: its college certificate is not contingent on passing a certification exam.
An included fee usually covers one attempt. NHA's candidate handbook says you must re-register and pay the full exam price for each retake, and the NHA CPT application is $134 on NHA's own store. Ask whether a program's fee covers a second attempt; most rows say one attempt or first attempt.
Often, yes. NHA allows its two-hour CPT exam at your school, a PSI testing center or through live remote proctoring. Durham Technical Community College and Harrisburg Area Community College hold the NHA exam on the last day of class, and North Central Michigan College gives it on its Petoskey campus.
Only in a few states. California, for example, requires anyone drawing blood who isn't otherwise licensed to hold a state phlebotomy certificate, and its CPT I path requires a national exam. College of the Redwoods students take the NHA CPT, then apply to the state. See requirements by state.