2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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.
The Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in Iowa 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 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found Western Iowa Tech Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Iowa. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Sioux City.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,802 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Western Iowa Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $24,421 in student debt.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northeast Iowa Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. NICC is a small public school located in the rural area of Calmar.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NICC are $6,120 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Des Moines Area Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the large suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DMACC are $5,220 a year. Nursing majors at DMACC take out an average of $23,473 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
DMACC also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa rankings.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Iowa Community College District. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Davenport.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges are $4,396 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges accumulate an average of around $27,563 in student debt.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indian Hills Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. IHCC is a small public school located in the remote town of Ottumwa.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at IHCC are $4,560 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from IHCC carry an average student debtload of $23,432.
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Kirkwood 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of Cedar Rapids, Kirkwood Community College is a public college with a large student population.
Kirkwood Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,308 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Kirkwood Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $27,483.
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With a ranking of #7, Northwest Iowa Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools 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.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northwest Iowa Community College are $6,540 per year. 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.
Northwest Iowa Community College also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #2.
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North Iowa Area Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. North Iowa Area Community College is a small public school located in the remote town of Mason City.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Iowa Area Community College are $5,971 per year. Nursing majors at North Iowa Area Community College take out an average of $19,728 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Iowa Central Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Iowa Central Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Fort Dodge.
Iowa Central Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at Iowa Central Community College accumulate an average of around $26,954 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #10, Hawkeye Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Waterloo, Hawkeye Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Hawkeye Community College are $5,977 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Hawkeye Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $28,555.
Request InformationBest Value Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools 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 |
More Nursing Rankings in Iowa
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 17 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.