Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana

24 Colleges
$73,819 Avg Salary
$36,788 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Louisiana with 3,502 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 24 schools in Louisiana to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for nursing students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans the best school in Louisiana for nursing students. Located in the city of New Orleans, LSU Health - New Orleans is a public school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at LSU Health - New Orleans take out an average of $78,014 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $301, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana list. Located in the medium-sized city of Baton Rouge, FranU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at FranU take out an average of $106,417 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Nursing at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University Report

The excellent programs at University of Louisiana at Monroe helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Louisiana. ULM is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Monroe.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at ULM accumulate an average of around $29,059 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $65.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Louisiana at Monroe

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Louisiana Tech University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana list. Louisiana Tech is a large public school located in the town of Ruston.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Louisiana Tech take out is $19,334.

Full Nursing at Louisiana Tech University Report

#5

McNeese State University

Lake Charles, LA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend McNeese State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana list. Located in the city of Lake Charles, McNeese is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Nursing majors at McNeese take out an average of $31,838 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

University of Louisiana at Lafayette landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Lafayette, UL Lafayette is a public college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UL Lafayette take out is $33,372. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $147.

Read More…

With a ranking of #7, Southeastern Louisiana University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Hammond, Southeastern is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Nursing majors at Southeastern take out an average of $30,370 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Southeastern Louisiana University

#8

Nicholls State University

Thibodaux, LA

Nicholls State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of Thibodaux, Nicholls State University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Nicholls State University accumulate an average of around $36,475 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Nicholls State University Report

#9

Loyola University New Orleans

New Orleans, LA

Loyola University New Orleans ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana list. Located in the city of New Orleans, Loyola New Orleans is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Loyola New Orleans take out $66,625 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Loyola University New Orleans

SOWELA Technical Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Louisiana ranking. SOWELA is a small public school located in the city of Lake Charles.

Read full report on Nursing at SOWELA Technical Community College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Mississippi 2,838
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
North Carolina 7,425
West Virginia 1,771
Georgia 7,112
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

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 24 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.