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Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$29,180 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$66,973 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

In 2020-2021, nursing students earned 462 degrees and certificates from an Iowa school, making the subject the 3rd in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in Iowa to see which 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. 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.

2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a .

Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Nursing

#1

Morningside College

Sioux City, IA
$35,270 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Morningside College the best value school in Iowa for nursing students. Morningside is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux City.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Morningside are $35,270 a year.

Full Nursing at Morningside College Report

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA
$9,942 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Iowa. Iowa is a very large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $9,942 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Iowa is ranked #3 for overall quality for nursing in Iowa.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Iowa

$31,920 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Graceland University - Lamoni is a great value for nursing students. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Graceland Lamoni undergraduate students pay an average of $31,920 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#4

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA
$33,998 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 7 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Briar Cliff University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Sioux City, Briar Cliff is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Briar Cliff undergraduate students pay an average of $33,998 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Nursing at Briar Cliff University

#5

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA
$36,540 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Mount Mercy University is a great value for nursing students. Mount Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cedar Rapids.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mount Mercy are $36,540 per year.

Full Nursing at Mount Mercy University Report

#6

Allen College

Waterloo, IA
$19,718 Average Tuition & Fees

Allen College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Allen College undergraduate students pay an average of $19,718 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#7

Clarke University

Dubuque, IA
$36,870 Average Tuition & Fees

Clarke University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. Clarke is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Dubuque.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clarke are $36,870 per year.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 2,207
Minnesota 5,809
Kansas 311
Nebraska 414
North Dakota 100
South Dakota 94

Nursing is one of 29 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 16,952

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 7 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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