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Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa

17 Colleges
$57,601 Avg Salary
$21,889 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, nursing students earned 2,966 degrees and certificates from an Iowa school, making the subject the 3rd in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. This report analyzed 17 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

#1

St Luke's College

Sioux City, IA

Our analysis found St Luke’s College to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Iowa. St Luke's College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux City.

Nursing majors at St Luke's College take out an average of $23,684 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeast Iowa Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. NICC is a small public school located in the rural area of Calmar.

Full Nursing at Northeast Iowa Community College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mercy College of Health Sciences. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Des Moines, Mercy College of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Mercy College of Health Sciences take out $33,251 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Northwest Iowa Community College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Sheldon, Northwest Iowa Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Northwest Iowa Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $25,038.

Full Nursing at Northwest Iowa Community College Report

#5

Iowa Western Community College

Council Bluffs, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa Western Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Council Bluffs, Iowa Western Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Iowa Western Community College take out $27,290 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Iowa Western Community College

Des Moines Area Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public school with a very large student population.

Nursing majors at DMACC take out an average of $23,473 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

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North Iowa Area Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. North Iowa Area Community College is a small public school located in the remote town of Mason City.

Nursing majors at North Iowa Area Community College take out an average of $19,728 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#8

Southeastern Community College

West Burlington, IA

Southeastern Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Southeastern Community College is a small public school located in the town of West Burlington.

On average, nursing graduates from Southeastern Community College take out $25,483 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Southeastern Community College

With a ranking of #9, Iowa Central Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Iowa Central Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Fort Dodge.

While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Iowa Central Community College accumulate an average of around $26,954 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Iowa Central Community College

#10

Hawkeye Community College

Waterloo, IA

With a ranking of #10, Hawkeye Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Hawkeye Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Hawkeye Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $28,555.

Read full report on Nursing at Hawkeye Community College

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 6,840
Minnesota 14,890
Kansas 2,633
Nebraska 1,908
North Dakota 976
South Dakota 1,022

One of 30 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Nursing

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 17 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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