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 small private for-profit school located in the 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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Out of the 1,850 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Teaneck, Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school 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 fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Madison.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a great place for nursing students. St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a 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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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. 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 school with a 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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Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. West Penn Hospital School of Nursing is a 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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UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing is a 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 came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of New Kensington, Citizens School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college 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 fairly small student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at RHSHS take out is $25,208.
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With a ranking of #11, Midwestern University - Glendale did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. 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 came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools ranking. 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 landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. UPMC Jameson School of Nursing is a 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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With a ranking of #14, Samuel Merritt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Samuel Merritt University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large 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 did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the suburb of Washington, Washington Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college 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 ranked #16 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the city of Johnstown, Memorial Medical Center is a private for-profit school with a fairly 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 small private not-for-profit school located in the 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 landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. 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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With a ranking of #19, Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of Brockton, BHSN is a private not-for-profit college 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 did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the city of Albany, AMC Albany is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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With a ranking of #21, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Graham Hospital School of Nursing landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the town of Canton, Graham Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Helene Fuld College of Nursing landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. HFCN is a small private not-for-profit school located in the 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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Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing ranked #24 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools list. Located in the small city of Lafayette, St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program is a private not-for-profit college 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 landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Saint Vincent is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Latrobe.
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Remaining Award Winners
This section represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Nursing Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school 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.