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2023 Best Nursing Schools in Ohio

97 Colleges
$63,662 Avg Salary
$26,702 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Ohio. In total, 13,973 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Ohio.

It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Schools in Ohio ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 97 schools in Ohio to see which ones offered the best programs for nursing students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Ohio

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a .

Top 15% Best Nursing Schools

Our analysis found Trinity Health System School of Nursing to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Ohio. Located in the small city of Steubenville, Trinity Health System School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Trinity Health System School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $14,625 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Trinity Health System School of Nursing Report

#2

Ohio Institute of Allied Health

Huber Heights, OH

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Ohio Institute of Allied Health is a great place for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of Huber Heights, Ohio Institute of Allied Health is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Ohio Institute of Allied Health take out an average of $9,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Out of the 97 schools in Ohio that were part of this year’s ranking, Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the town of Sandusky, Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing take out $11,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing Report

The excellent programs at Ohio Medical Career College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Ohio. Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, Ohio Medical Career College is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Ohio Medical Career College carry an average student debtload of $14,758.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tri-Rivers Career Center. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Ohio list. Located in the town of Marion, Tri-Rivers Career Center is a public school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Tri-Rivers Career Center take out an average of $14,260 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Tri-Rivers Career Center

Chamberlain University - Ohio landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Chamberlain - Ohio is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Columbus.

Nursing majors at Chamberlain - Ohio take out an average of $22,213 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $283, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Chamberlain University - Ohio Report

With a ranking of #7, Collins Career Technical Center did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. CollinsCTC is a small public school located in the rural area of Chesapeake.

On average, nursing graduates from CollinsCTC take out $14,167 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Collins Career Technical Center

#8

Sandusky Career Center

Sandusky, OH

Sandusky Career Center came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Ohio ranking. Located in the town of Sandusky, Sandusky Career Center is a public college with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Sandusky Career Center take out an average of $14,514 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Nursing at Sandusky Career Center Report

Case Western Reserve University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Ohio list. Case Western is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Cleveland.

Nursing majors at Case Western take out an average of $75,624 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $351.

Read full report on Nursing at Case Western Reserve University

With a ranking of #10, Ohio Northern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the fringe town of Ada, ONU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from ONU carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

Full Nursing at Ohio Northern University Report

James A Rhodes State College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Ohio ranking. Rhodes State College is a small public school located in the suburb of Lima.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Rhodes State College carry an average student debtload of $14,971.

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With a ranking of #12, Herzing University - Akron did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the suburb of Akron, Herzing Akron is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Herzing Akron take out $23,416 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $175, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Ohio ranking. Located in the suburb of Cincinnati, Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati carry an average student debtload of $30,556. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $133, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Galen College of Nursing - Cincinnati

#14

Otterbein University

Westerville, OH

Otterbein University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Ohio ranking. Located in the large suburb of Westerville, Otterbein is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Otterbein carry an average student debtload of $43,912. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $633.

Read full report on Nursing at Otterbein University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Schools in Ohio award.

Rank College Location
15 Kettering College Kettering, OH
16 Athena Career Academy Toledo, OH
17 Mount Carmel College of Nursing Columbus, OH
18 Mercy College of Ohio Toledo, OH
19 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH

Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 7,345
Illinois 21,938
Indiana 7,922
Wisconsin 5,410

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

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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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