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Best Value Nursing Schools in Tennessee

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Tennessee

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

44 Colleges
$7,675 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$68,124 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Tennessee. In total, 6,004 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Tennessee.

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. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Value Nursing Schools in Tennessee ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 44 schools in Tennessee to see which ones offered the best value 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 Schools in Tennessee

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

$4,430 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Southwest Tennessee Community College the best value school in Tennessee for nursing students. Located in the city of Memphis, Southwest is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Southwest undergraduate students pay an average of $4,430 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Southwest take out an average of $18,522 in student loans while working on their egree.

Southwest also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Schools in Tennessee list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Nursing at Southwest Tennessee Community College

$4,618 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 44 schools in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, Jackson State Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. JSCC is a small public school located in the small city of Jackson.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JSCC are $4,618 per year. On average, nursing graduates from JSCC take out $6,185 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Jackson State Community College Report

$4,410 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dyersburg State Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the distant town of Dyersburg, DSCC is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DSCC are $4,410 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at DSCC accumulate an average of around $13,000 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Dyersburg State Community College Report

$4,416 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Motlow State Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Tennessee. Located in the rural area of Tullahoma, Motlow is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Motlow are $4,416 per year. Nursing majors at Motlow take out an average of $5,950 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Motlow State Community College

$4,422 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeast State Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the rural area of Blountville, Northeast State Technical Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northeast State Technical Community College are $4,422 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Northeast State Technical Community College carry an average student debtload of $7,523.

Read More…

$4,430 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Chattanooga State Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Chattanooga State Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Chattanooga.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Chattanooga State Community College are $4,430 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Chattanooga State Community College take out is $16,500.

Full Nursing at Chattanooga State Community College Report

$4,399 Average Tuition & Fees

Walters State Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Tennessee list. Located in the small city of Morristown, WSCC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WSCC are $4,399 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from WSCC carry an average student debtload of $8,069.

Read More…

$4,666 Average Tuition & Fees

Columbia State Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Tennessee ranking. Columbia State Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Columbia.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Columbia State Community College are $4,666 a year. Nursing majors at Columbia State Community College take out an average of $16,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Columbia State Community College

$4,456 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Pellissippi State Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Pellissippi State Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Knoxville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pellissippi State Community College are $4,456 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Pellissippi State Community College take out is $18,341.

Read full report on Nursing at Pellissippi State Community College

$4,372 Average Tuition & Fees

Nashville State Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Nashville State Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Nashville.

Nashville State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,372 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Nashville State Community College accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Arkansas 2,882
Louisiana 3,502
Florida 21,209
West Virginia 1,771
North Carolina 7,425
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775
Georgia 7,112

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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