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.
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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa
The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a .
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 college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,802 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Western Iowa Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $21,962 in student debt.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Northeast Iowa Community College is a great value for nursing students. Located in the rural area of Calmar, NICC is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NICC are $6,120 a year. On average, nursing graduates from NICC take out $25,275 in student loans while working on their degree.
In addition to its great value ranking, NICC is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Schools in Iowa list.
Read full report on Nursing at Northeast Iowa Community College
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 fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Ankeny.
DMACC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,220 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from DMACC carry an average student debtload of $20,596.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Eastern Iowa Community College District is a great value for nursing students. 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.
Full Nursing at Eastern Iowa Community College District Report
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 medium-sized public school located in the city of Waterloo.
Hawkeye Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,977 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Hawkeye Community College carry an average student debtload of $23,477.
Kirkwood Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Kirkwood Community College is a large public school located in the medium-sized 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.
Indian Hills Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the town of Ottumwa, IHCC is a public school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at IHCC are $4,560 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at IHCC accumulate an average of around $22,304 in student debt.
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.
North Iowa Area Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the town of Mason City, North Iowa Area Community College is a public college with a small student population.
North Iowa Area Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,971 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from North Iowa Area Community College carry an average student debtload of $15,000.
Iowa Central Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. 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.
Read full report on Nursing at Iowa Central Community College
Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools 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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