2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in Iowa with 2,966 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 17 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for nursing students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found St Luke’s College to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Iowa. Located in the small city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from St Luke's College take out $23,684 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Out of the 17 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeast Iowa Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Calmar, NICC is a public school with a small student population.
Read full report on Nursing at Northeast Iowa Community College
The excellent associate degree programs at Mercy College of Health Sciences helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Iowa. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Mercy College of Health Sciences take out while working on their Associate Degree is $33,251.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Northwest Iowa Community College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Northwest Iowa Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Sheldon.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Northwest Iowa Community College carry an average student debtload of $25,038.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Iowa Western Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Iowa Western Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Council Bluffs.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Iowa Western Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $27,290.
With a ranking of #6, Des Moines Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. DMACC is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Ankeny.
On average, nursing graduates from DMACC take out $23,473 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
With a ranking of #7, North Iowa Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the town of Mason City, North Iowa Area Community College is a public college with a small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from North Iowa Area Community College take out $19,728 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Southeastern Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the town of West Burlington, Southeastern Community College is a public college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Southeastern Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $25,483.
Iowa Central Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Located in the town of Fort Dodge, Iowa Central Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Nursing majors at Iowa Central Community College take out an average of $26,954 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Hawkeye Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best associate degree nursing programs. Hawkeye Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Waterloo.
After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Hawkeye Community College carry an average student debtload of $28,555.
Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Minnesota | 14,890 |
| South Dakota | 1,022 |
| North Dakota | 976 |
| Nebraska | 1,908 |
| Kansas | 2,633 |
| Missouri | 6,840 |
More Nursing Rankings in Iowa
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
Nursing Focus Areas
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing | 266,651 |
| Family Practice Nurse/Nursing | 16,104 |
| Nursing Administration | 9,838 |
| Nursing Practice | 7,992 |
| Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 5,092 |
| Nursing Science | 4,600 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,287 |
| Adult Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,021 |
| Nurse Anesthetist | 1,936 |
| Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing | 1,883 |
| Critical Care Nursing | 773 |
| Geriatric Nurse/Nursing | 563 |
| School Nursing | 553 |
| Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery | 509 |
| Clinical Nurse Leader | 444 |
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | 419 |
| Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing | 331 |
| Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing | 181 |
| Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing | 57 |
| Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing | 53 |
| Palliative Care Nursing | 14 |
| Forensic Nursing | 14 |
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 17 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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