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Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

113 Colleges
$12,270 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$64,238 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's 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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 113 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the Plains States Region . CMU CGES is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Fayette.

CMU CGES undergraduate students pay an average of $6,720 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from CMU CGES carry an average student debtload of $29,850.

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#2

Grantham University

Lenexa, KS

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Grantham University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Grantham University is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the small city of Lenexa.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grantham University are $8,280 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Grantham University carry an average student debtload of $29,478.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bemidji State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Bemidji State University is a small public school located in the town of Bemidji.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Bemidji State University are $9,806 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Bemidji State University take out $32,595 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Bemidji State University also did well on our Best Nursing Bachelor’s 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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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Southwest Minnesota State University is a great value for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the remote town of Marshall, Southwest Minnesota State University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southwest Minnesota State University are $9,482 a year. Nursing majors at Southwest Minnesota State University take out an average of $32,041 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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#5

Ottawa University - Kansas City

Overland Park, KS

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ottawa University - Kansas City. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Ottawa University - Kansas City is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Overland Park.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ottawa University - Kansas City are $12,869 per year. Nursing majors at Ottawa University - Kansas City take out an average of $29,652 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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Mayville State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the remote area of Mayville, Mayville State University is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Mayville State University are $10,756 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Mayville State University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $33,395.

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Minot State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. MSU is a small public school located in the town of Minot.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MSU are $8,163 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from MSU carry an average student debtload of $27,508.

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Metropolitan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Metro State is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Metro State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,394 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Metro State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $34,517.

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#10

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN

Capella University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

Capella University undergraduate students pay an average of $14,148 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Capella University carry an average student debtload of $28,936.

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#11

Dickinson State University

Dickinson, ND

With a ranking of #11, Dickinson State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the remote town of Dickinson, DSU is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at DSU are $9,942 a year.

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Herzing University - Minneapolis landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Minneapolis, Herzing University - Minneapolis is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Herzing University - Minneapolis are $14,200 per year. Nursing majors at Herzing University - Minneapolis take out an average of $42,677 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $204, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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With a ranking of #13, South Dakota State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. South Dakota State is a large public school located in the town of Brookings.

South Dakota State undergraduate students pay an average of $12,809 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at South Dakota State take out an average of $29,938 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $162, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Chamberlain University - Missouri ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large suburb of St. Louis, Chamberlain - Missouri is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Chamberlain - Missouri undergraduate students pay an average of $19,820 in tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Chamberlain - Missouri take out $37,103 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $256.

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#15

Clarkson College

Omaha, NE

Clarkson College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Clarkson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Omaha.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Clarkson College are $14,880 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Clarkson College carry an average student debtload of $38,225.

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#16

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

With a ranking of #16, University of South Dakota did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

USD undergraduate students pay an average of $12,942 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at USD take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $31,467. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $129, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Honorable Mentions

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region award.

Rank College Location
17 North Dakota State University - Main Campus Fargo, ND
17 Cox College Springfield, MO
19 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND
20 Rasmussen University - North Dakota Fargo, ND
21 Winona State University Winona, MN
21 Minnesota State University - Moorhead Moorhead, MN

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing schools 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

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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