2023 Best Nursing Schools in Iowa
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in Iowa with 2,966 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
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 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 34 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best programs for nursing students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Nursing Schools in Iowa
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Colleges.
Top 10 Best Nursing Schools
Our analysis found Luther College to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Iowa. Located in the remote town of Decorah, Luther is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Luther carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Iowa list. 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 $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
The excellent programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Iowa. Iowa is a very large public school located in the city of Iowa City.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Iowa accumulate an average of around $24,687 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $221.
Out of the 34 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, St Luke’s College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at St Luke's College accumulate an average of around $23,000 in student debt.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Graceland University - Lamoni. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Nursing majors at Graceland Lamoni take out an average of $28,584 in student loans while working on their egree.
Dordt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. Dordt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Sioux Center.
On average, nursing graduates from Dordt take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
Mercy College of Health Sciences ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Des Moines.
On average, nursing graduates from Mercy College of Health Sciences take out $30,295 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $330.
With a ranking of #8, Allen College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Allen College take out is $30,510. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
Northeast Iowa Community College 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 rural area of Calmar, NICC is a public school with a small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from NICC take out $25,275 in student loans while working on their degree.
Saint Ambrose University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Davenport.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from St. Ambrose University carry an average student debtload of $27,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $500.
Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges 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 |
More Nursing Rankings in Iowa
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
Nursing Focus Areas
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing | 266,651 |
| Family Practice Nurse/Nursing | 16,104 |
| Nursing Administration | 9,838 |
| Nursing Practice | 7,992 |
| Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 5,092 |
| Nursing Science | 4,600 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,287 |
| Adult Health Nurse/Nursing | 2,021 |
| Nurse Anesthetist | 1,936 |
| Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing | 1,883 |
| Critical Care Nursing | 773 |
| Geriatric Nurse/Nursing | 563 |
| School Nursing | 553 |
| Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery | 509 |
| Clinical Nurse Leader | 444 |
| Clinical Nurse Specialist | 419 |
| Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing | 331 |
| Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing | 181 |
| Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing | 57 |
| Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing | 53 |
| Palliative Care Nursing | 14 |
| Forensic Nursing | 14 |
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
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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