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 2021-2022.
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 2023 rankings named Luther College the best school in Iowa for nursing students. 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.
Out of the 34 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern College landed the # 2 spot on the 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 $19,209 in student loans while working on their egree.
Out of the 34 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the # 3 spot on the list. Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the city of Iowa City.
On average, nursing graduates from Iowa take out $68,820 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 $220.
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.
Nursing majors at St Luke's College take out an average of $17,450 in student loans while working on their egree.
The excellent programs at Graceland University - Lamoni helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Iowa. 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 $41,560 in student loans while working on their egree.
Dordt University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Dordt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Sioux Center.
On average, nursing graduates from Dordt take out $24,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
With a ranking of #7, Mercy College of Health Sciences did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Des Moines.
Nursing majors at Mercy College of Health Sciences take out an average of $21,977 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 $411.
Allen College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Allen College accumulate an average of around $29,648 in student debt.
With a ranking of #9, Northeast Iowa Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the rural area of Calmar, NICC is a public college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at NICC take out is $17,750.
Read full report on Nursing at Northeast Iowa Community College
Saint Ambrose University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. 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. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $548.
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 |
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 |
Majors Similar 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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