2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree 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.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 89 schools in the Plains States Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found Oglala Lakota College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Plains States Region . Oglala Lakota College is a small public school located in the remote area of Kyle.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Oglala Lakota College are $2,684 a year. Nursing majors at Oglala Lakota College take out an average of $11,529 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeast Community College Area. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large city of Lincoln, Southeast Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southeast Community College are $3,780 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Southeast Community College take out $27,526 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Neosho County Community College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. Neosho County Community College is a small public school located in the remote town of Chanute.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Neosho County Community College are $4,000 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Neosho County Community College carry an average student debtload of $20,150.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cloud County Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the rural area of Concordia, Cloud County Community College is a public college with a small student population.
Cloud County Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,570 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Cloud County Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $22,223.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Rochester Community and Technical College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Rochester, Rochester Community and Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Rochester Community and Technical College are $5,372 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Rochester Community and Technical College accumulate an average of around $27,212 in student debt.
Rochester Community and Technical College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.
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Metropolitan Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Omaha, MCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MCC are $4,680 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at MCC accumulate an average of around $22,316 in student debt.
In addition to its great value ranking, MCC is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.
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Hutchinson Community College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Hutchinson Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Hutchinson.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Hutchinson Community College are $4,470 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Hutchinson Community College accumulate an average of around $24,634 in student debt.
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Northwest Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. NTC is a fairly small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.
NTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,380 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at NTC take out an average of $32,265 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Central Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Central Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Grand Island.
Central Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,590 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Central Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $13,462.
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North Hennepin Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. North Hennepin Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Brooklyn Park.
North Hennepin Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,882 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at North Hennepin Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $32,743.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, North Hennepin Community College also did well on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Lake Region State College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Devils Lake, Lake Region State College is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lake Region State College are $5,000 a year. Nursing majors at Lake Region State College take out an average of $27,411 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Mid-Plains Community College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Mid-Plains Community College is a small public school located in the town of North Platte.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mid-Plains Community College are $4,320 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Mid-Plains Community College carry an average student debtload of $19,256.
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Anoka-Ramsey Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the suburb of Coon Rapids, Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus are $5,515 per year. Nursing majors at Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus take out an average of $28,625 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list, coming in at #1.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Labette Community College | Parsons, KS |
| 15 | Western Iowa Tech Community College | Sioux City, IA |
| 16 | Inver Hills Community College | Inver Grove Heights, MN |
| 17 | Garden City Community College | Garden City, KS |
| 17 | Northeast Community College | Norfolk, NE |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 6,840 |
| Minnesota | 14,890 |
| Kansas | 2,633 |
| Iowa | 2,966 |
| Nebraska | 1,908 |
| North Dakota | 976 |
| South Dakota | 1,022 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Plains States Region
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
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 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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