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Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region

108 Colleges
$79,102 Avg Salary
$30,862 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

In 2021-2022, 319,502 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region ranking. This report analyzed 108 schools in the New England Region to see which ones were the most popular programs for nursing students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the New England Region .

Our 2023 rankings named Southern New Hampshire University the most popular school in the New England Region for nursing students. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Manchester, SNHU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at SNHU accumulate an average of around $16,539 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Southern New Hampshire University

#3

Regis College

Weston, MA

The excellent programs at Regis College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the New England Region . Located in the suburb of Weston, Regis College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Regis College take out is $33,388. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $568, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Regis College Report

#4

Simmons University

Boston, MA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Simmons University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the large city of Boston, Simmons is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Simmons take out $46,938 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Simmons University

#5

Sacred Heart University

Fairfield, CT

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sacred Heart University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the large suburb of Fairfield, Sacred Heart is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Sacred Heart take out is $26,656. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $697.

Full Nursing at Sacred Heart University Report

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Boston, MCPHS University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at MCPHS University accumulate an average of around $33,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $830.

Full Nursing at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Report

University of Massachusetts - Boston came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region ranking. UMass Boston is a large public school located in the large city of Boston.

Nursing majors at UMass Boston take out an average of $29,881 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

With a ranking of #8, University of Rhode Island did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. URI is a large public school located in the large suburb of Kingston.

Nursing majors at URI take out an average of $26,699 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $439.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Rhode Island

#9

Laboure College

Milton, MA

Laboure College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Milton, Laboure College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Laboure College take out $27,189 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $215, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Laboure College

#10

Quinnipiac University

Hamden, CT

Quinnipiac University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the suburb of Hamden, Quinnipiac is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Nursing majors at Quinnipiac take out an average of $51,687 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $828.

Read More…

University of Connecticut landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. UCONN is a very large public school located in the suburb of Storrs.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UCONN accumulate an average of around $31,515 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $372, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Connecticut

#12

Rivier University

Nashua, NH

Rivier University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the city of Nashua, Rivier is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Rivier take out $29,733 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $383, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Rivier University

#13

Goodwin College

East Hartford, CT

Goodwin College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region ranking. Goodwin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of East Hartford.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Goodwin take out is $41,110.

Read full report on Nursing at Goodwin College

MGH Institute of Health Professions did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #14 on the list. MGH Institute of Health Professions is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at MGH Institute of Health Professions take out is $96,543.

Read More…

Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #15 on the list. Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network carry an average student debt load of $39,659. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $523.

Read More…

#16

Curry College

Milton, MA

With a ranking of #16, Curry College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Curry is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Milton.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Curry take out is $25,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $950, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Curry College

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Nursing Schools in the New England Region award.

Rank College Location
17 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
18 Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
19 University of Southern Maine Portland, ME
20 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
21 Community College of Rhode Island Warwick, RI

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the New England region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Hampshire 2,129
Massachusetts 6,626
Vermont 390
Connecticut 3,058
Maine 1,262
Rhode Island 1,091

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 262,974
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,647
Nursing Practice 8,862
Nursing Administration 8,663
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 4,717
Nursing Science 4,701
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,895
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,075
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 2,011
Nurse Anesthetist 1,768
Critical Care Nursing 747
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 622
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 567
School Nursing 539
Clinical Nurse Leader 502
Clinical Nurse Specialist 340
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 269
Women’s Health Nurse/Nursing 262
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 192
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 87
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 26
Forensic Nursing 23
Palliative Care Nursing 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 85,339

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 26 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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