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Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

22 Colleges
$21,405 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$64,238 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Kentucky. In total, 6,395 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Kentucky.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 22 schools in Kentucky to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

Our 2023 rankings named Northern Kentucky University the best value school in Kentucky for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NKU are $10,392 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from NKU carry an average student debtload of $32,669. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $252.

Read full report on Nursing at Northern Kentucky University

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Murray State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Kentucky. Located in the town of Murray, Murray State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Murray State are $9,252 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Murray State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $23,439.

Read More…

#3

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kentucky. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the large city of Lexington, UK is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UK are $12,610 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from UK carry an average student debtload of $27,393. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $363, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

UK also took the #3 spot in our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky rankings.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Kentucky

Out of the 22 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, Eastern Kentucky University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Eastern is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Richmond.

Eastern undergraduate students pay an average of $9,752 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Eastern carry an average student debtload of $32,291. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $242.

Read full report on Nursing at Eastern Kentucky University

#5

University of the Cumberlands

Williamsburg, KY

Out of the 22 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, University of the Cumberlands landed the # 5 spot on the list. Cumberlands is a large private not-for-profit school located in the town of Williamsburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cumberlands are $9,875 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Cumberlands take out $30,755 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Nursing at University of the Cumberlands Report

#6

Kentucky State University

Frankfort, KY

With a ranking of #6, Kentucky State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the distant town of Frankfort, KY State is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at KY State are $9,020 a year. Nursing majors at KY State take out an average of $42,799 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Nursing at Kentucky State University Report

#7

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY

With a ranking of #7, University of Louisville did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Louisville, UofL is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UofL are $12,370 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from UofL carry an average student debtload of $24,742. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $178, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

UofL also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky rankings.

Read More…

#8

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

With a ranking of #8, Western Kentucky University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Bowling Green, WKU is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WKU are $10,992 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at WKU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $26,389. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $200, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Western Kentucky University Report

Morehead State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the remote town of Morehead, Morehead State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Morehead State University are $9,462 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Morehead State University carry an average student debtload of $30,832.

Full Nursing at Morehead State University Report

With a ranking of #10, Beckfield College - Florence did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Florence, Beckfield College - Florence is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Beckfield College - Florence undergraduate students pay an average of $13,295 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Beckfield College - Florence take out $42,848 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Tennessee 6,004
Louisiana 3,502
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
West Virginia 1,771
Georgia 7,112
North Carolina 7,425
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

Nursing Concentrations

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 22 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.

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