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Most Popular Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

75 Colleges
$68,192 Avg Salary
$27,237 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in the United States with 27,247 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the nursing programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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 Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 75 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region 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 colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing a .

#1

Western Governors University

Salt Lake City, UT

Our analysis found Western Governors University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in the Rocky Mountains Region . Located in the large suburb of Salt Lake City, WGU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at WGU take out is $21,420.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Weber State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the city of Ogden, WSU is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at WSU accumulate an average of around $17,115 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Weber State University Report

Out of the 75 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, AmeriTech College - Draper landed the # 3 spot on the list. AmeriTech College - Draper is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Draper.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from AmeriTech College - Draper carry an average student debt load of $31,312. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $267.

Full Nursing at AmeriTech College - Draper Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the large city of Denver, CU Anschutz is a public school with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from CU Anschutz carry an average student debt load of $31,125. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $191, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Boise State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Boise State is a very large public school located in the city of Boise.

Nursing majors at Boise State take out an average of $31,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Boise State University

#6

Pikes Peak Community College

Colorado Springs, CO

Pikes Peak Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. PPCC is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Colorado Springs.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at PPCC take out is $23,844.

Read full report on Nursing at Pikes Peak Community College

With a ranking of #7, Denver College of Nursing did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Denver College of Nursing is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Denver.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Denver College of Nursing carry an average student debt load of $34,542. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $390, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Denver College of Nursing

#8

Regis University

Denver, CO

Regis University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Denver, Regis U is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Regis U take out $29,111 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $373, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs is a very large private for-profit school located in the large city of Colorado Springs.

Nursing majors at Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs take out an average of $29,303 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs

#10

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT

University of Utah did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, nursing graduates from U of U take out $22,466 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at University of Utah Report

#11

Dixie State University

Saint George, UT

Dixie State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the city of Saint George, Dixie State College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Dixie State College carry an average student debt load of $20,557.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the Rocky Mountains Region that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Montana State University Bozeman, MT
13 Brigham Young University - Idaho Rexburg, ID
14 University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO
15 Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City, UT

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains region.

State Degrees Awarded
Colorado 6,496
Utah 17,535
Montana 745
Idaho 1,593
Wyoming 397

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

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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