2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 17 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Western Iowa Tech Community College the best value school in Iowa for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Western Iowa Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,802 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Western Iowa Tech Community College take out an average of $24,421 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Request Information
Out of the 17 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeast Iowa Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Calmar, NICC is a public school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NICC are $6,120 per year.
NICC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list.
Request Information
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Des Moines Area Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. DMACC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $5,220 per year. On average, nursing graduates from DMACC take out $23,473 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
DMACC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list.
Read full report on Nursing at Des Moines Area Community College
Request Information
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Eastern Iowa Community College District is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize city of Davenport, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges are $4,396 a year. Nursing majors at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges take out an average of $27,563 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Read full report on Nursing at Eastern Iowa Community College District
Request Information
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Indian Hills Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the remote town of Ottumwa, IHCC is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at IHCC are $4,560 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at IHCC accumulate an average of around $23,432 in student debt.
Read full report on Nursing at Indian Hills Community College
Request Information
Kirkwood Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Kirkwood Community College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Cedar Rapids.
Kirkwood Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,308 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Kirkwood Community College carry an average student debtload of $27,483.
Full Nursing at Kirkwood Community College Report
Request Information
With a ranking of #7, Northwest Iowa Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Northwest Iowa Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Sheldon.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northwest Iowa Community College are $6,540 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Northwest Iowa Community College carry an average student debtload of $25,038.
Northwest Iowa Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list.
Read full report on Nursing at Northwest Iowa Community College
Request Information
With a ranking of #8, North Iowa Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the remote town of Mason City, North Iowa Area Community College is a public college with a small student population.
North Iowa Area Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,971 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from North Iowa Area Community College take out $19,728 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
North Iowa Area Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list.
Full Nursing at North Iowa Area Community College Report
Request Information
Iowa Central Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Located in the town of Fort Dodge, Iowa Central Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa Central Community College are $6,000 per year. Nursing majors at Iowa Central Community College take out an average of $26,954 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Request Information
Hawkeye Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Hawkeye Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Waterloo.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Hawkeye Community College are $5,977 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Hawkeye Community College carry an average student debtload of $28,555.
Full Nursing at Hawkeye Community College Report
Request InformationBest Value Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Value 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
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing Focus Areas
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 17 schools only.
- 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.
NursingDegreeSearch.com provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© NursingDegreeSearch.com – All Rights Reserved.