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Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota

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2023 Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota

45 Colleges
$74,232 Avg Salary
$31,893 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Minnesota with 14,890 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota ranking. This report analyzed 45 schools in Minnesota to see which ones offered the best programs for nursing students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

Our analysis found Mayo Clinic School of Medicine to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Minnesota. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rochester.

Read full report on Nursing at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. SMU MN is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Winona.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from SMU MN carry an average student debtload of $32,139.

Full Nursing at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Report

#3

College of Saint Benedict

Saint Joseph, MN

Out of the 45 schools in Minnesota that were part of this year’s ranking, College of Saint Benedict landed the # 3 spot on the list. CSB is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Saint Joseph.

On average, nursing graduates from CSB take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at College of Saint Benedict

The excellent programs at Bemidji State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Minnesota. Located in the remote town of Bemidji, Bemidji State University is a public college with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Bemidji State University take out is $30,446.

Full Nursing at Bemidji State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rasmussen University - Minnesota. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a small private for-profit school located in the small city of St. Cloud.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Rasmussen University - Minnesota accumulate an average of around $35,539 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $161.

Full Nursing at Rasmussen University - Minnesota Report

#6

Gustavus Adolphus College

Saint Peter, MN

Gustavus Adolphus College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota ranking. Gustavus Adolphus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Saint Peter.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Gustavus Adolphus accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Gustavus Adolphus College Report

Southwest Minnesota State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Southwest Minnesota State University is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Marshall.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Southwest Minnesota State University take out is $31,217.

Full Nursing at Southwest Minnesota State University Report

Northwest Technical College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the town of Bemidji, NTC is a public college with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at NTC accumulate an average of around $31,500 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Northwest Technical College

Herzing University - Minneapolis came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in Minnesota ranking. Herzing University - Minneapolis is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Minneapolis.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Herzing University - Minneapolis carry an average student debtload of $45,508. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $204, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Herzing University - Minneapolis

#10

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN

Capella University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. Capella University is a very large private for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Capella University take out is $27,599.

Read More…

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
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
Iowa 2,966
Missouri 6,840

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

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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