2023 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa
Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's 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.
The Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 19 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best bachelor's 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.
2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found St Luke’s College to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Iowa. Located in the small city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at St Luke's College accumulate an average of around $31,663 in student debt.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Luther College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Luther accumulate an average of around $24,995 in student debt.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. NWC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Orange City.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Iowa. Iowa is a very large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Iowa accumulate an average of around $25,295 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $221.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Mercy College of Health Sciences is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Des Moines.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Mercy College of Health Sciences accumulate an average of around $32,347 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $330.
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Dordt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Dordt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Sioux Center.
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Saint Ambrose University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Davenport.
On average, nursing graduates from St. Ambrose University take out $28,729 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $500.
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Upper Iowa University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Fayette.
On average, nursing graduates from UIU take out $34,722 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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Iowa State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public school with a very large student population.
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Allen College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Allen College take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $28,861. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Request InformationBest 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 19 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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