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Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$31,410 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$64,238 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's 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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 19 schools in Iowa 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.

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.

2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Our 2023 rankings named University of Iowa the best value school in Iowa for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Iowa is a very large public school located in the city of Iowa City.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa are $9,942 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Iowa accumulate an average of around $25,295 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $221.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Iowa is ranked #3 for overall quality for nursing in Iowa.

Full Nursing at University of Iowa Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa State are $9,634 a year.

Read full report on Nursing at Iowa State University

#3

St Luke's College

Sioux City, IA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means St Luke’s College is a great value for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

St Luke’s College undergraduate students pay an average of $20,940 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at St Luke's College accumulate an average of around $31,663 in student debt.

Read More…

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Mercy College of Health Sciences is a great value for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Mercy College of Health Sciences are $19,754 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Mercy College of Health Sciences accumulate an average of around $32,347 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $330.

Read full report on Nursing at Mercy College of Health Sciences

#5

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

Out of the 19 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Allen College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Allen College undergraduate students pay an average of $19,718 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Allen College take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $28,861. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Allen College Report

#6

Northwestern College

Orange City, IA

With a ranking of #6, Northwestern College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. NWC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Orange City.

NWC undergraduate students pay an average of $33,590 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

NWC also made our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #2.

Full Nursing at Northwestern College Report

#7

Dordt University

Sioux Center, IA

Dordt University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Dordt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Sioux Center.

Dordt undergraduate students pay an average of $33,590 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Dordt also made our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #4.

Read More…

#8

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose 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 #8 on the list. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Davenport.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at St. Ambrose University are $33,570 per year. On average, nursing graduates from St. Ambrose University take out $28,729 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $500.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, St. Ambrose University is ranked #5 for overall quality for nursing in Iowa.

Read More…

#9

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

Upper Iowa University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Fayette.

UIU undergraduate students pay an average of $33,609 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from UIU take out $34,722 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Upper Iowa University

Graceland University - Lamoni ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Graceland Lamoni undergraduate students pay an average of $31,920 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Graceland Lamoni carry an average student debtload of $29,727.

Full Nursing at Graceland University - Lamoni Report

Best 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

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 19 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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