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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri

54 Colleges
$67,538 Avg Salary
$28,500 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Missouri with 6,840 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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 Missouri ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 54 schools in Missouri 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.

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

Our analysis found Maryville University of Saint Louis to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Missouri. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Maryville U accumulate an average of around $31,009 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $416.

Read full report on Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri list. Located in the large city of Saint Louis, Goldfarb School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Goldfarb School of Nursing take out an average of $27,000 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 $350.

Full Nursing at Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College Report

Out of the 54 schools in Missouri that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Missouri - Kansas City landed the # 3 spot on the list. UMKC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Kansas City.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at UMKC accumulate an average of around $30,817 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $251.

Full Nursing at University of Missouri - Kansas City Report

#4

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, MO

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Saint Louis University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri list. SLU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Louis.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at SLU accumulate an average of around $26,192 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $493, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Saint Louis University Report

#5

Rockhurst University

Kansas City, MO

Out of the 54 schools in Missouri that were part of this year’s ranking, Rockhurst University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Rockhurst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Kansas City.

On average, nursing graduates from Rockhurst take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $275, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Rockhurst University

University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri ranking. Located in the midsize city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public school with a very large student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Mizzou take out $24,000 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $425.

Read More…

#7

Cox College

Springfield, MO

Cox College ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri list. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, Cox College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Cox College take out an average of $34,963 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at Cox College

University of Missouri - St Louis came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri ranking. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, UMSL is a public college with a large student population.

Nursing majors at UMSL take out an average of $26,894 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $164, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Missouri ranking. Located in the distant town of Fayette, CMU CGES is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CMU CGES take out is $27,562.

Full Nursing at Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies Report

With a ranking of #10, Southwest Baptist University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Southwest Baptist University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Bolivar.

Nursing majors at Southwest Baptist University take out an average of $30,245 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Colleges 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
Iowa 2,966

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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