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Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

20 Colleges
$64,238 Avg Salary
$28,730 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in Iowa to see which bachelor's degree programs were the most popular for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Our analysis found Mercy College of Health Sciences to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Iowa. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Des Moines.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Mercy College of Health Sciences accumulate an average of around $32,347 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $330.

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#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Iowa is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the city of Iowa City.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Iowa accumulate an average of around $25,295 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $221.

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#3

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Allen College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Allen College accumulate an average of around $28,861 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#4

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Upper Iowa University is a great place for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Fayette.

Of the 111 students majoring in nursing at UIU, 13% are male and 87% are female.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UIU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $34,722.

Full Nursing at Upper Iowa University Report

#5

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Mercy University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Mount Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cedar Rapids.

Of the 104 students majoring in nursing at Mount Mercy, 12% are male and 88% are female.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Mount Mercy take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $30,991. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $289, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Mount Mercy University Report

#6

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Davenport.

Women make up 90% of the nursing majors at the school.

On average, nursing graduates from St. Ambrose University take out $28,729 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $500.

Full Nursing at Saint Ambrose University Report

Graceland University - Lamoni came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the remote area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 73 students majoring in nursing at Graceland Lamoni, 14% are male and 86% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from Graceland Lamoni take out $29,727 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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#8

Grand View University

Des Moines, IA

Grand View University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Grand View University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

About 96% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 4% are male.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Grand View University accumulate an average of around $32,203 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $251.

Read full report on Nursing at Grand View University

#9

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA

Briar Cliff University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the small city of Sioux City, Briar Cliff is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Briar Cliff University

#10

St Luke's College

Sioux City, IA

St Luke’s College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the small city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Women make up 93% of the nursing majors at the school.

Nursing majors at St Luke's College take out an average of $31,663 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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

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 20 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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