2023 Best Nursing Schools
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 319,502 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.
There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Nursing Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 1,850 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Schools in the United States
Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools in Nursing
Our 2023 rankings named Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing the best school in the United States for nursing students. Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $20,000.
Read full report on Nursing at Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing
The excellent programs at Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Englewood Cliffs.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing take out is $20,000.
Read full report on Nursing at Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc is a great place for nursing students. MTSA is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Madison.
On average, nursing graduates from MTSA take out $131,581 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Nursing at Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc Report
The excellent programs at St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bethlehem.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $14,000.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a great place for nursing students. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Rochester.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Mayo Clinic School of Medicine carry an average student debtload of $58,424.
Read full report on Nursing at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Trinity Health System School of Nursing ranked #6 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the small city of Steubenville, Trinity Health System School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Trinity Health System School of Nursing take out $14,625 in student loans while working on their degree.
Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. West Penn Hospital School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at West Penn Hospital School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $13,351 in student debt.
UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
Nursing majors at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing take out an average of $19,508 in student loans while working on their egree.
Citizens School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Tarentum, Citizens School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Citizens School of Nursing take out is $16,000.
With a ranking of #10, Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Reading, RHSHS is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at RHSHS accumulate an average of around $18,500 in student debt.
Read full report on Nursing at Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences
Midwestern University - Glendale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Glendale, Midwestern University - Glendale is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Midwestern University - Glendale take out $177,880 in student loans while working on their degree.
UPMC Mercy School of Nursing ranked #12 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at UPMC Mercy School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $13,750 in student debt.
UPMC Jameson School of Nursing ranked #13 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. UPMC Jameson School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the town of New Castle.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at UPMC Jameson School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $15,000 in student debt.
Read full report on Nursing at UPMC Jameson School of Nursing
Samuel Merritt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #14 on the list. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Samuel Merritt University take out is $100,511. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $601.
With a ranking of #15, Washington Hospital School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of Washington, Washington Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Washington Hospital School of Nursing take out is $15,147.
Full Nursing at Washington Hospital School of Nursing Report
With a ranking of #16, DLP Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Johnstown, Memorial Medical Center is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Memorial Medical Center carry an average student debtload of $19,999.
Read full report on Nursing at DLP Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center
Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing ranked #17 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Pottsville.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $14,822.
With a ranking of #18, Lutheran School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Lutheran School of Nursing is a private for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Louis.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Lutheran School of Nursing take out is $16,125.
Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing ranked #19 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Brockton, BHSN is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at BHSN accumulate an average of around $20,000 in student debt.
Albany Medical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the small city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from AMC Albany take out $60,919 in student loans while working on their degree.
Wake Forest University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Wake Forest University take out is $103,942.
Graham Hospital School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the town of Canton, Graham Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
With a ranking of #23, Helene Fuld College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. HFCN is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Nursing majors at HFCN take out an average of $15,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the city of Lafayette, St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program take out is $29,057. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $499.
With a ranking of #25, Saint Vincent College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Saint Vincent is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Latrobe.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Saint Vincent carry an average student debtload of $117,526.
Rest of the Top 50 Best Nursing Schools
Remaining Award Winners
This section shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Nursing Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 1850 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools award.
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Other U.S. Territories |
| Great Lakes |
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| 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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