Find Nursing Colleges

What Do You Want to Study?

Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa

36 Colleges
$61,662 Avg Salary
$25,155 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 2021-2022.

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 2023 rankings named Mercy College of Health Sciences the most popular school in Iowa for nursing students. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Des Moines.

Nursing majors at Mercy College of Health Sciences take out an average of $21,977 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 $411.

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.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Iowa accumulate an average of around $68,820 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 $220.

Full Nursing at University of Iowa Report

Out of the 36 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Graceland University - Lamoni landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Graceland Lamoni take out an average of $41,560 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Nursing at Graceland University - Lamoni Report

#4

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Allen College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Allen College accumulate an average of around $29,648 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Allen College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Des Moines Area Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa list. DMACC is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Ankeny.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from DMACC carry an average student debt load of $15,075.

Full Nursing at Des Moines Area Community College Report

#6

Iowa Western Community College

Council Bluffs, IA

With a ranking of #6, Iowa Western Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Iowa Western Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Council Bluffs.

On average, nursing graduates from Iowa Western Community College take out $20,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

#7

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

Upper Iowa University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Fayette.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UIU take out is $21,155.

Read More…

#7

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

Mount Mercy University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Mount Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids.

On average, nursing graduates from Mount Mercy take out $23,558 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $276.

Read More…

#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.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Kirkwood Community College carry an average student debt load of $15,750.

Read More…

#10

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Iowa list. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Davenport.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from St. Ambrose University carry an average student debt load of $27,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $548.

Read More…

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 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

Majors Similar to Nursing

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

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.

Find Nursing Schools Near You

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