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Best Value Nursing Schools in Minnesota

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Minnesota

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

45 Colleges
$6,773 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$74,232 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Minnesota with 14,890 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Schools in Minnesota ranking. Our analysis looked at 45 schools in Minnesota 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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Minnesota

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

$5,372 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Rochester Community and Technical College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Minnesota. Rochester Community and Technical College is a small public school located in the midsize city of Rochester.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Rochester Community and Technical College are $5,372 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Rochester Community and Technical College accumulate an average of around $23,562 in student debt.

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$6,380 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwest Technical College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the remote town of Bemidji, NTC is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NTC are $6,380 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at NTC accumulate an average of around $31,500 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Northwest Technical College Report

#3

North Hennepin Community College

Brooklyn Park, MN
$4,882 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend North Hennepin Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the suburb of Brooklyn Park, North Hennepin Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Hennepin Community College are $4,882 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from North Hennepin Community College carry an average student debtload of $31,784.

Full Nursing at North Hennepin Community College Report

$5,515 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Anoka-Ramsey Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Minnesota. Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Coon Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus are $5,515 a year. Nursing majors at Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus take out an average of $27,066 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#5

Inver Hills Community College

Inver Grove Heights, MN
$5,809 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Inver Hills Community College is a great value for nursing students. IHCC is a small public school located in the suburb of Inver Grove Heights.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at IHCC are $5,809 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from IHCC carry an average student debtload of $24,929.

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$5,773 Average Tuition & Fees

Hibbing Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the town of Hibbing, Hibbing Community College is a public school with a fairly small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Hibbing Community College are $5,773 a year. Nursing majors at Hibbing Community College take out an average of $24,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Hibbing Community College

#7

Ridgewater College

Willmar, MN
$5,914 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Ridgewater College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the town of Willmar, Ridgewater College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ridgewater College are $5,914 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Ridgewater College take out $25,534 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Ridgewater College

$5,910 Average Tuition & Fees

Alexandria Technical & 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. Located in the remote town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ATCC are $5,910 per year. Nursing majors at ATCC take out an average of $19,254 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#9

South Central College

North Mankato, MN
$5,966 Average Tuition & Fees

South Central College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the small suburb of North Mankato, South Central College is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Central College are $5,966 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at South Central College take out is $27,512.

Full Nursing at South Central College Report

#10

Century College

White Bear Lake, MN
$5,907 Average Tuition & Fees

Century College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of White Bear Lake, Century College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Century College are $5,907 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Century College take out is $27,953.

Read full report on Nursing at Century 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
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
Iowa 2,966
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

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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