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 2021-2022.
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.
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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 city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at St Luke's College take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $23,597.
Out of the 19 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Luther College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northwestern College is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. NWC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Orange City.
Nursing majors at NWC take out an average of $19,909 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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 fairly large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Iowa take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $17,681. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $220.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mercy College of Health Sciences. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the 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 Bachelor's Degree is $19,664. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $411.
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 remote town of Sioux Center.
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 midsize city of Davenport.
Nursing majors at St. Ambrose University take out an average of $23,863 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $548.
Upper Iowa University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree nursing programs. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Fayette.
On average, nursing graduates from UIU take out $22,257 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
With a ranking of #9, Iowa State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
With a ranking of #10, Allen College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Allen College carry an average student debtload of $16,496.
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 |
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
Nursing Focus Areas
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing | 262,974 |
| Family Practice Nurse/Nursing | 16,647 |
| Nursing Practice | 8,862 |
| Nursing Administration | 8,663 |
| Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 4,717 |
| Nursing Science | 4,701 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,895 |
| Adult Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,075 |
| Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing | 2,011 |
| Nurse Anesthetist | 1,768 |
| Critical Care Nursing | 747 |
| Geriatric Nurse/Nursing | 622 |
| Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery | 567 |
| School Nursing | 539 |
| Clinical Nurse Leader | 502 |
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | 340 |
| Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing | 269 |
| Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing | 262 |
| Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing | 192 |
| Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing | 87 |
| Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing | 26 |
| Forensic Nursing | 23 |
| Palliative Care Nursing | 13 |
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 85,339 |
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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