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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota

50 Colleges
$74,232 Avg Salary
$31,893 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Minnesota with 14,890 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which nursing program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota ranking. Our analysis looked at 50 schools in Minnesota 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.

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Minnesota.

#2

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Capella University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Capella University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Capella University accumulate an average of around $27,599 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Capella University

The excellent programs at Rasmussen University - Minnesota helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Minnesota. Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a small private for-profit school located in the city of St. Cloud.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Rasmussen University - Minnesota carry an average student debt load of $35,539. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $161.

Read full report on Nursing at Rasmussen University - Minnesota

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Concordia University, Saint Paul is a great place for nursing students. Concordia University, Saint Paul is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Paul.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Concordia University, Saint Paul accumulate an average of around $38,033 in student debt.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UMN Twin Cities carry an average student debt load of $22,250. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $202.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

With a ranking of #6, The College of Saint Scholastica did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. St. Scholastica is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Duluth.

Nursing majors at St. Scholastica take out an average of $30,417 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $314.

Full Nursing at The College of Saint Scholastica Report

Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a large student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Minnesota State Mankato carry an average student debt load of $26,957.

Full Nursing at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

#8

St Catherine University

Saint Paul, MN

With a ranking of #8, St Catherine University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from St. Kate's carry an average student debt load of $40,182. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $349.

Full Nursing at St Catherine University Report

Winona State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Winona State carry an average student debt load of $25,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $190.

Read More…

#10

Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, MN

Metropolitan State 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. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Metro State take out is $34,797.

Read full report on Nursing at Metropolitan State 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
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976
Nebraska 1,908
Kansas 2,633
Iowa 2,966
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

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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