2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
In 2020-2021, 322,592 nursing students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #3 most popular in the country.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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 Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. This report analyzed 71 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region 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.
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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region
The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a .
Top 10 Best Nursing Schools
Our analysis found Western Governors University to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in the Rocky Mountains Region . WGU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Salt Lake City.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WGU are $7,452 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at WGU take out is $21,420.
WGU did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Brigham Young University - Idaho. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the town of Rexburg, BYU - I is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BYU - I are $4,416 per year. On average, nursing graduates from BYU - I take out $13,750 in student loans while working on their degree.
Out of the 71 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Provo landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BYU are $6,120 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at BYU accumulate an average of around $8,340 in student debt.
BYU also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Nursing at Brigham Young University - Provo
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Otero Junior College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the remote town of La Junta, Otero JC is a public college with a small student population.
Otero JC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,563 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Otero JC take out is $31,200.
The excellent programs at College of Eastern Idaho helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . CEI is a small public school located in the small city of Idaho Falls.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CEI are $6,222 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CEI take out is $29,455.
Colorado Northwestern Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. CNCC is a small public school located in the remote area of Rangely.
CNCC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,596 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at CNCC take out is $20,000.
College of Western Idaho did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the rural area of Nampa, CWI is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CWI are $7,344 per year. Nursing majors at CWI take out an average of $18,937 in student loans while working on their egree.
Trinidad State Junior College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the town of Trinidad, Trinidad State Junior College is a public school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Trinidad State Junior College are $6,631 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Trinidad State Junior College take out $22,353 in student loans while working on their degree.
Lamar Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. LCC is a fairly small public school located in the town of Lamar.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LCC are $6,592 a year. Nursing majors at LCC take out an average of $27,865 in student loans while working on their egree.
North Idaho College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the small city of Coeur d'Alene, NIC is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIC are $8,736 a year. On average, nursing graduates from NIC take out $18,841 in student loans while working on their degree.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
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 the Rocky Mountains Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Denver College of Nursing | Denver, CO |
| 12 | College of Southern Idaho | Twin Falls, ID |
| 13 | Northeastern Junior College | Sterling, CO |
| 13 | Miles Community College | Miles City, MT |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Colorado | 6,496 |
| Utah | 17,535 |
| Idaho | 1,593 |
| Montana | 745 |
| Wyoming | 397 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Rocky Mountains Region
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.
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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