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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Washington

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Washington

46 Colleges
$75,342 Avg Salary
$20,069 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Washington with 3,851 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Nursing Schools in Washington ranking. Our analysis looked at 46 schools in Washington to see which 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 Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Washington State University the most popular school in Washington for nursing students. Wazzu is a very large public school located in the distant town of Pullman.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Wazzu carry an average student debt load of $23,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $202, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#2

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

Out of the 46 schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Seattle University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Seattle U take out is $26,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $722, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Seattle University Report

Out of the 46 schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, nursing graduates from UW Seattle take out $18,723 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $234.

Full Nursing at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report

#4

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

Out of the 46 schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Gonzaga University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Spokane, Gonzaga is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Gonzaga take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Gonzaga University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Bothell Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Washington list. UW Bothell is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Bothell.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UW Bothell carry an average student debt load of $18,723. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $234.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Washington - Bothell Campus

#6

Seattle Central College

Seattle, WA

Seattle Central College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Washington ranking. Seattle Central is a small public school located in the large city of Seattle.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Seattle Central take out is $21,512.

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#7

Highline College

Des Moines, WA

Highline College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Washington ranking. Located in the suburb of Des Moines, Highline is a public school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Highline take out an average of $15,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Pacific Lutheran University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Washington ranking. Located in the large suburb of Tacoma, PLU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at PLU accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $413.

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Everett Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Everett, Everett Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Everett Community College accumulate an average of around $15,702 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Everett Community College Report

#10

Bellevue College

Bellevue, WA

Bellevue College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. BC is a large public school located in the midsize city of Bellevue.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at BC accumulate an average of around $19,258 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Bellevue College Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 18,329
Nevada 2,015
Alaska 177
Hawaii 535
Oregon 1,502

Nursing Concentrations

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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