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Best Value Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania

2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

76 Colleges
$13,369 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$74,117 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Pennsylvania with 11,477 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 76 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best value programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Top 15% Best Nursing Schools

#1

La Salle University

Philadelphia, PA
$33,150 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named La Salle University the best value school in Pennsylvania for nursing students. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, La Salle is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

La Salle undergraduate students pay an average of $33,150 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at La Salle take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $478.

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$10,660 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing is a great value for nursing students. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, West Penn Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

West Penn Hospital School of Nursing undergraduate students pay an average of $10,660 in in-state tuition and fees each year. 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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$12,626 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the large suburb of Bethlehem, St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing undergraduate students pay an average of $12,626 in in-state tuition and fees each year. 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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$14,610 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing undergraduate students pay an average of $14,610 in in-state tuition and fees each year. 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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$13,334 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania. RHSHS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Reading.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at RHSHS are $13,334 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at RHSHS take out is $25,208.

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$12,710 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the distant town of Pottsville, Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing are $12,710 per year. 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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$13,051 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the town of New Castle, UPMC Jameson School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UPMC Jameson School of Nursing are $13,051 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from UPMC Jameson School of Nursing carry an average student debtload of $24,750.

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$13,049 Average Tuition & Fees

Washington Hospital School of Nursing landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Washington Hospital School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Washington.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Washington Hospital School of Nursing are $13,049 a year. 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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$15,545 Average Tuition & Fees

UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing are $15,545 a year. 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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#10

UPMC Mercy School of Nursing

Pittsburgh, PA
$15,545 Average Tuition & Fees

UPMC Mercy School of Nursing did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. UPMC Mercy School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UPMC Mercy School of Nursing are $15,545 per year. 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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$8,295 Average Tuition & Fees

Harrisburg Area Community College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. HACC is a large public school located in the city of Harrisburg.

HACC undergraduate students pay an average of $8,295 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from HACC take out $29,839 in student loans while working on their degree.

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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 Schools in Pennsylvania award.

Rank College Location
12 Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA
13 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA
14 Lehigh Carbon Community College Schnecksville, PA
15 West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA
15 Community College of Allegheny County Pittsburgh, PA

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 17,708
Maryland 4,104
New Jersey 5,648
District of Columbia 990
Delaware 1,267

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

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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