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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota

50 Colleges
$75,163 Avg Salary
$29,877 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 2021-2022.

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 join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Capella University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota list. Capella University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.

On average, nursing graduates from Capella University take out $34,172 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Capella University Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a great place for nursing students. Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a small private for-profit school located in the small city of St. Cloud.

Nursing majors at Rasmussen University - Minnesota take out an average of $22,529 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $221.

Read More…

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 moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Concordia University, Saint Paul accumulate an average of around $16,417 in student debt.

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The excellent programs at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Minnesota. 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 $44,569. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $273, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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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 small city of Duluth.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from St. Scholastica carry an average student debt load of $38,163. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $240.

Read full report on Nursing at The College of Saint Scholastica

Minnesota State University - Mankato came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Minnesota ranking. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Minnesota State Mankato accumulate an average of around $13,225 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Minnesota State University - Mankato

#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 city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from St. Kate's take out $46,009 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $413, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at St Catherine University

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

On average, nursing graduates from Winona State take out $33,269 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $196.

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#10

Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, MN

With a ranking of #10, Metropolitan State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Nursing majors at Metro State take out an average of $46,495 in student loans while working on their egree.

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
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 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

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.

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