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Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

34 Colleges
$14,427 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$66,973 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing 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.

The Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 34 schools in Iowa to see which programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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 Schools

$4,802 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Western Iowa Tech Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Iowa. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,802 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Western Iowa Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $21,962 in student debt.

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$6,120 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 34 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. On average, nursing graduates from NICC take out $25,275 in student loans while working on their degree.

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

Full Nursing at Northeast Iowa Community College Report

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$5,220 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Des Moines Area Community College is a great value for nursing students. DMACC is a very large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $5,220 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from DMACC carry an average student debtload of $20,596.

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$4,396 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Iowa Community College District. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Located in the midsize city of Davenport, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges undergraduate students pay an average of $4,396 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Eastern Iowa Community Colleges take out $26,451 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$5,977 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Hawkeye Community College is a great value for nursing students. 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 degree, nursing graduates from Hawkeye Community College carry an average student debtload of $23,477.

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#6

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA
$5,308 Average Tuition & Fees

Kirkwood Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Kirkwood Community College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Cedar Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Kirkwood Community College are $5,308 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Kirkwood Community College accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Kirkwood Community College Report

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$4,560 Average Tuition & Fees

Indian Hills Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the 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 degree, nursing majors at IHCC accumulate an average of around $22,304 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Indian Hills Community College Report

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$6,540 Average Tuition & Fees

Northwest Iowa Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. 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. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Northwest Iowa Community College take out is $23,461.

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$5,971 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, North Iowa Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the remote town of Mason City, North Iowa Area Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at North Iowa Area Community College are $5,971 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from North Iowa Area Community College carry an average student debtload of $15,000.

Full Nursing at North Iowa Area Community College Report

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$6,000 Average Tuition & Fees

Iowa Central Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the town of Fort Dodge, Iowa Central Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa Central Community College are $6,000 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Iowa Central Community College take out is $23,838.

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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 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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