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Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

20 Colleges
$64,238 Avg Salary
$28,730 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's 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 Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's 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 20 schools in Iowa to see which bachelor's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Mercy College of Health Sciences the most popular school in Iowa for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Mercy College of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Mercy College of Health Sciences carry an average student debt load of $32,347. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $330, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Mercy College of Health Sciences

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Iowa. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Iowa carry an average student debt load of $25,295. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $221.

Full Nursing at University of Iowa Report

#3

Allen College

Waterloo, IA

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at Allen College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular nursing schools in Iowa. Allen College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Waterloo.

About 86% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 14% are male.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Allen College carry an average student debt load of $28,861. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $242.

Read More…

#4

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

Out of the 20 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Upper Iowa University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the remote area of Fayette, UIU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 111 students majoring in nursing at UIU, 13% are male and 87% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from UIU take out $34,722 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

#5

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

Out of the 20 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Mercy University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Cedar Rapids, Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 104 students majoring in nursing at Mount Mercy, 12% are male and 88% are female.

On average, nursing graduates from Mount Mercy take out $30,991 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $289, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Mount Mercy University Report

#6

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the city of Davenport, St. Ambrose University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 90% of the nursing majors at the school.

Nursing majors at St. Ambrose University take out an average of $28,729 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $500.

Read More…

Graceland University - Lamoni came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Graceland Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Lamoni.

Of the 73 students majoring in nursing at Graceland Lamoni, 14% are male and 86% are female.

Nursing majors at Graceland Lamoni take out an average of $29,727 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Graceland University - Lamoni

#8

Grand View University

Des Moines, IA

Grand View University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Grand View University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.

About 96% of the students majoring in nursing at the school are women while 4% are male.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Grand View University carry an average student debt load of $32,203. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $251.

Full Nursing at Grand View University Report

#9

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA

Briar Cliff University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Briar Cliff is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux City.

Women make up 88% of the nursing majors at the school.

Full Nursing at Briar Cliff University Report

#10

St Luke's College

Sioux City, IA

St Luke’s College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. St Luke's College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Sioux City.

Women make up 93% of the nursing majors at the school.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at St Luke's College accumulate an average of around $31,663 in student debt.

Full Nursing at St Luke’s College Report

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Colleges 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

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 20 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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