2023 Best Nursing Schools
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
With 322,592 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, nursing is the #3 most popular major in the United States.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Nursing Schools ranking. This report analyzed 1,850 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Nursing Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Nursing
Our analysis found Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $20,000 in student debt.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the suburb of Teaneck, Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $29,603 in student debt.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia Inc. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. MTSA is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Madison.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Nursing Schools list. St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bethlehem.
Nursing majors at St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing take out an average of $21,381 in student loans while working on their egree.
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The excellent programs at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Rochester.
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With a ranking of #6, Trinity Health System School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Steubenville, Trinity Health System School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Trinity Health System School of Nursing take out $20,824 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #7, Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. West Penn Hospital School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from West Penn Hospital School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $20,000.
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With a ranking of #8, UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
Nursing majors at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing take out an average of $27,892 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Citizens School of Nursing ranked #9 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the suburb of New Kensington, Citizens School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Citizens School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $21,312 in student debt.
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Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Reading, RHSHS is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at RHSHS take out is $25,208.
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Midwestern University - Glendale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Glendale, Midwestern University - Glendale is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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UPMC Mercy School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at UPMC Mercy School of Nursing accumulate an average of around $24,743 in student debt.
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UPMC Jameson School of Nursing ranked #13 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. UPMC Jameson School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the town of New Castle.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UPMC Jameson School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $24,750.
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Samuel Merritt University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Oakland.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Samuel Merritt University take out is $25,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $551, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Washington Hospital School of Nursing ranked #15 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Washington, Washington Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Washington Hospital School of Nursing take out $23,719 in student loans while working on their degree.
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DLP Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the small city of Johnstown, Memorial Medical Center is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Memorial Medical Center take out is $24,420.
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Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Pottsville.
Nursing majors at Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing take out an average of $29,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Lutheran School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #18 on the list. Lutheran School of Nursing is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Louis.
On average, nursing graduates from Lutheran School of Nursing take out $18,110 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Brockton, BHSN is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Nursing majors at BHSN take out an average of $26,254 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Albany Medical College ranked #20 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the small city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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Wake Forest University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #22, Graham Hospital School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the town of Canton, Graham Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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Helene Fuld College of Nursing ranked #23 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. HFCN is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at HFCN accumulate an average of around $33,485 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #24, Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the city of Lafayette, St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program accumulate an average of around $43,960 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $424.
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Saint Vincent College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. Saint Vincent is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Latrobe.
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Remaining Award Winners
This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Nursing Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 1850 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students that almost earned our Best Nursing Schools award.
Nursing by Region
View the Best Nursing Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Nursing Rankings
Nursing Related Rankings by Major
Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 89,359 |
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 84,492 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
| Allied Health Professions | 82,308 |
| Public Health | 40,596 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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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