Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

71 Colleges
$66,974 Avg Salary
$25,402 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

In 2021-2022, 319,502 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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 the Rocky Mountains Region ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 71 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region to see which ones offered the best programs for nursing students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

#1

University of Providence

Great Falls, MT

Our 2023 rankings named University of Providence the best school in the Rocky Mountains Region for nursing students. University of Providence is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Great Falls.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at University of Providence take out is $16,698.

Full Nursing at University of Providence Report

#2

Western Governors University

Salt Lake City, UT

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Governors University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the large suburb of Salt Lake City, WGU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from WGU carry an average student debtload of $11,568.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. RMUoHP is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Provo.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at RMUoHP take out is $104,164.

Read full report on Nursing at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions

#4

Platt College - Aurora

Greenwood Village, CO

The excellent programs at Platt College - Aurora helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . Platt College - Aurora is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Greenwood Village.

On average, nursing graduates from Platt College - Aurora take out $41,237 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Platt College - Aurora Report

#5

Carroll College

Helena, MT

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Carroll College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Carroll Montana is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Helena.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Carroll Montana take out is $27,000.

Full Nursing at Carroll College Report

University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the large city of Denver, CU Anschutz is a public college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CU Anschutz take out is $43,423. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $211.

Full Nursing at University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Report

Lewis - Clark State College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the small city of Lewiston, Lewis - Clark State College is a public school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Lewis - Clark State College take out an average of $15,838 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Carrington College, Boise came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Carrington College, Boise is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the midsize city of Boise.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Carrington College, Boise carry an average student debtload of $26,500. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $262, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

University of Northern Colorado did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. University of Northern Colorado is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Greeley.

On average, nursing graduates from University of Northern Colorado take out $36,495 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $225, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

With a ranking of #10, Red Rocks Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Red Rocks Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Lakewood.

Read full report on Nursing at Red Rocks Community College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Rocky Mountains Region that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Denver College of Nursing Denver, CO
12 University of Wyoming Laramie, WY
13 Westminster College Utah Salt Lake City, UT
14 Pikes Peak Community College Colorado Springs, CO

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains region.

State Degrees Awarded
Colorado 6,496
Utah 17,535
Montana 745
Idaho 1,593
Wyoming 397

Nursing Concentrations

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.

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free matching tool for schools matches students with nursing schools across the U.S.