2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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
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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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.
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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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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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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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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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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Request InformationBest 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 |
More Nursing Rankings in Iowa
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing Focus Areas
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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