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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida

96 Colleges
$66,973 Avg Salary
$25,610 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Florida with 21,209 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 96 schools in Florida 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 Rasmussen University - Florida the most popular school in Florida for nursing students. Rasmussen University - Florida is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the small city of Ocala.

Nursing majors at Rasmussen University - Florida take out an average of $35,539 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $161, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#2

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, FL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida list. Located in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale take out is $38,116. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $151.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Central Florida is a great place for nursing students. UCF is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Orlando.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UCF accumulate an average of around $21,500 in student debt.

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#4

Miami Dade College

Miami, FL

The excellent programs at Miami Dade College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Florida. MDC is a very large public school located in the city of Miami.

Nursing majors at MDC take out an average of $14,750 in student loans while working on their egree.

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The excellent programs at University of South Florida - Main Campus helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Florida. Located in the large city of Tampa, USF Tampa is a public college with a very large student population.

Nursing majors at USF Tampa take out an average of $24,636 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $181, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#6

Miami Regional University

Miami Springs, FL

Miami Regional University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Miami Springs, Miami Regional University is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Miami Regional University carry an average student debt load of $32,633.

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#7

St Petersburg College

Clearwater, FL

With a ranking of #7, St Petersburg College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Clearwater, SPC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at SPC accumulate an average of around $22,934 in student debt.

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Florida State College at Jacksonville ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida list. Located in the large city of Jacksonville, FSCJ is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at FSCJ accumulate an average of around $17,750 in student debt.

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#9

Nova Southeastern University

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Nova Southeastern University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida list. NUS Florida is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Fort Lauderdale.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at NUS Florida accumulate an average of around $31,538 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 $334.

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#10

Galen College of Nursing - Tampa Bay

Saint Petersburg, FL

Galen College of Nursing - Tampa Bay came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida ranking. Galen College of Nursing - Tampa Bay is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Saint Petersburg.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Galen College of Nursing - Tampa Bay carry an average student debt load of $41,365. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $117, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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With a ranking of #11, The University of West Florida did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Located in the small city of Pensacola, UWF is a public school with a large student population.

Nursing majors at UWF take out an average of $21,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#12

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL

University of Miami ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida list. U Miami is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Coral Gables.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from U Miami carry an average student debt load of $25,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $483, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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With a ranking of #13, Florida International University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. FIU is a very large public school located in the suburb of Miami.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at FIU take out is $20,792.

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#14

Jacksonville University

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. JU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Jacksonville.

Nursing majors at JU take out an average of $31,292 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Nursing students in the state of Florida that almost earned our Most Popular Nursing Schools in Florida award.

Rank College Location
15 Florida SouthWestern State College Fort Myers, FL
16 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
17 Broward College Fort Lauderdale, FL
18 Florida National University - Main Campus Hialeah, FL
19 Valencia College Orlando, FL

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Tennessee 6,004
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
Arkansas 2,882
North Carolina 7,425
West Virginia 1,771
Georgia 7,112
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

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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