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2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Missouri

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

28 Colleges
$15,404 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$64,238 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Missouri with 6,840 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Missouri ranking. This report analyzed 28 schools in Missouri 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. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Missouri

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies the best value school in Missouri for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Fayette, CMU CGES is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

CMU CGES undergraduate students pay an average of $6,720 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from CMU CGES carry an average student debtload of $29,850.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, CMU CGES is ranked #2 for overall quality for nursing in Missouri.

Read full report on Nursing at Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies

#2

Truman State University

Kirksville, MO

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Truman State University is a great value for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the remote town of Kirksville, Truman State is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Truman State are $8,689 per year. Nursing majors at Truman State take out an average of $23,304 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Nursing at Truman State University Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Central Missouri is a great value for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. UCM is a large public school located in the town of Warrensburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCM are $9,078 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from UCM carry an average student debtload of $27,578. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $145, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

UCM also made our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Missouri list, coming in at #5.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Central Missouri

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Southeast Missouri State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Missouri. Located in the city of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri State University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Southeast Missouri State University are $8,715 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Southeast Missouri State University carry an average student debtload of $28,330. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $129, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

Out of the 28 schools in Missouri that were part of this year’s ranking, Missouri State University - Springfield landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Missouri State are $8,294 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Missouri State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $21,673.

Full Nursing at Missouri State University - Springfield Report

With a ranking of #6, University of Missouri - Columbia did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Mizzou are $11,475 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Mizzou take out $23,696 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 $425.

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

Full Nursing at University of Missouri - Columbia Report

Missouri Western 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 #7 on the list. Located in the city of Saint Joseph, Missouri Western is a public school with a small student population.

Missouri Western undergraduate students pay an average of $7,930 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Missouri Western take out an average of $27,693 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

Missouri Southern State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Joplin, Missouri Southern is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Missouri Southern are $7,762 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Missouri Southern accumulate an average of around $31,478 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Missouri Southern State University Report

#9

Lincoln University

Jefferson City, MO

Lincoln University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the small city of Jefferson City, LU Missouri is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LU Missouri are $8,370 a year. Nursing majors at LU Missouri take out an average of $30,947 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

Chamberlain University - Missouri landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Chamberlain - Missouri is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of St. Louis.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Chamberlain - Missouri are $19,820 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Chamberlain - Missouri take out $37,103 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $256.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Missouri

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
Iowa 2,966

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.

  • 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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