Find Nursing Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Most Popular Nursing Schools in Kentucky

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Kentucky

43 Colleges
$65,824 Avg Salary
$26,802 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Kentucky. In total, 6,395 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Kentucky.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing students. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Kentucky to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 43 schools in Kentucky 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 .

Our analysis found Frontier Nursing University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Kentucky. Frontier Nursing University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Hyden.

Read More…

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a great place for nursing students. Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Louisville.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville 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.

Read More…

#3

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

The excellent programs at Northern Kentucky University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Kentucky. Located in the suburb of Highland Heights, NKU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from NKU carry an average student debt load of $30,429. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $252.

Full Nursing at Northern Kentucky University Report

#4

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

Out of the 43 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Kentucky University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Bowling Green, WKU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, nursing graduates from WKU take out $24,343 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $200, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Western Kentucky University Report

#5

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Kentucky is a great place for nursing students. Located in the large city of Lexington, UK is a public college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UK accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $363, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Kentucky

#6

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY

University of Louisville landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the large city of Louisville, UofL is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UofL carry an average student debt load of $25,656. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $178, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

Eastern Kentucky University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Kentucky ranking. Eastern is a large public school located in the distant town of Richmond.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Eastern carry an average student debt load of $27,970. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $242.

Full Nursing at Eastern Kentucky University Report

#8

Bellarmine University

Louisville, KY

Bellarmine University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Bellarmine U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Louisville.

On average, nursing graduates from Bellarmine U take out $28,000 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $285.

Read More…

#9

Spalding University

Louisville, KY

Spalding University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the large city of Louisville, Spalding is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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

Read full report on Nursing at Spalding University

#10

Murray State University

Murray, KY

Murray State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the remote town of Murray, Murray State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Murray State take out is $24,025.

Full Nursing at Murray State University Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Tennessee 6,004
Louisiana 3,502
Florida 21,209
Arkansas 2,882
West Virginia 1,771
Georgia 7,112
North Carolina 7,425
South Carolina 3,296
Virginia 6,775

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.

Featured Schools

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free matching tool for schools matches students with nursing schools across the U.S.