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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa

36 Colleges
$66,973 Avg Salary
$28,803 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Iowa with 2,966 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

The Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 36 schools in Iowa 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.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for nursing majors pursuing a .

Our analysis found Mercy College of Health Sciences to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Iowa. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.

Nursing majors at Mercy College of Health Sciences take out an average of $30,295 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 $330.

Read full report on Nursing at Mercy College of Health Sciences

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Iowa is a very large public school located in the city of Iowa City.

On average, nursing graduates from Iowa take out $24,687 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $221.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Graceland University - Lamoni. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Graceland Lamoni take out is $28,584.

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#4

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

The excellent programs at Allen College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Iowa. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Allen College take out is $30,510. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Des Moines Area Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa list. DMACC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.

On average, nursing graduates from DMACC take out $20,596 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#6

Iowa Western Community College

Council Bluffs, IA

Iowa Western Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Iowa Western Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Council Bluffs.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Iowa Western Community College take out is $25,973.

Read full report on Nursing at Iowa Western Community College

#7

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

With a ranking of #7, Upper Iowa University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Fayette.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UIU take out is $35,001.

Read full report on Nursing at Upper Iowa University

#7

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

Mount Mercy University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Mount Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids.

Nursing majors at Mount Mercy take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $289, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Mount Mercy University

#9

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

Kirkwood Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Kirkwood Community College is a large public school located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Kirkwood Community College take out is $25,000.

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#10

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Davenport.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from St. Ambrose University carry an average student debt load of $27,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $500.

Read full report on Nursing at Saint Ambrose University

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 14,890
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
Missouri 6,840

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

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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