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Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region

193 Colleges
$69,790 Avg Salary
$29,947 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

In 2020-2021, 322,592 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. 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.

The Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 193 schools in the Plains States Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for healthcare students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Colleges.

Top 25 Top Plains States Region Schools in Nursing

Our analysis found Mayo Clinic School of Medicine to be the best school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the midsize city of Rochester, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

#2

Lutheran School of Nursing

Saint Louis, MO

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lutheran School of Nursing. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large city of Saint Louis, Lutheran School of Nursing is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Lutheran School of Nursing take out an average of $18,110 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Chamberlain University - Missouri. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Nursing 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 small student population.

Nursing majors at Chamberlain - Missouri take out an average of $38,460 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $256, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Chamberlain University - Missouri Report

#4

Mount Marty University

Yankton, SD

Out of the 193 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Marty University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Yankton.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Mount Marty take out is $28,832.

Read full report on Nursing at Mount Marty University

#5

Ottawa University - Kansas City

Overland Park, KS

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ottawa University - Kansas City. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region list. Ottawa University - Kansas City is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Ottawa University - Kansas City accumulate an average of around $26,768 in student debt.

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University of Nebraska Medical Center came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. UNMC is a small public school located in the city of Omaha.

Nursing majors at UNMC take out an average of $23,737 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $236.

Full Nursing at University of Nebraska Medical Center Report

With a ranking of #7, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the distant town of Winona, SMU MN is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Nursing majors at SMU MN take out an average of $32,139 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Nursing at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Report

#8

Webster University

Saint Louis, MO

Webster University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Webster is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Full Nursing at Webster University Report

#9

College of Saint Benedict

Saint Joseph, MN

College of Saint Benedict landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the midsize suburb of Saint Joseph, CSB is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from CSB carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

Read full report on Nursing at College of Saint Benedict

#10

Bemidji State University

Bemidji, MN

Bemidji State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Bemidji State University is a small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Bemidji State University accumulate an average of around $30,446 in student debt.

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Rasmussen University - Minnesota came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the city of St. Cloud, Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Rasmussen University - Minnesota take out $35,539 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $161, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#12

Gustavus Adolphus College

Saint Peter, MN

Gustavus Adolphus College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the town of Saint Peter, Gustavus Adolphus is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, nursing graduates from Gustavus Adolphus take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Gustavus Adolphus College Report

#13

Mayville State University

Mayville, ND

Mayville State University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the rural area of Mayville, Mayville State University is a public school with a small student population.

Nursing majors at Mayville State University take out an average of $32,615 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#14

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS

With a ranking of #14, University of Kansas did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at KU take out is $22,182.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Kansas

With a ranking of #15, Maryville University of Saint Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Maryville U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Nursing majors at Maryville U take out an average of $31,009 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $416, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Nursing at Maryville University of Saint Louis

With a ranking of #16, Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. CMU CGES is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Fayette.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from CMU CGES carry an average student debtload of $27,562.

Read full report on Nursing at Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies

#17

Clarkson College

Omaha, NE

Clarkson College landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Clarkson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Omaha.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Clarkson College accumulate an average of around $36,225 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Clarkson College

With a ranking of #18, Southwest Minnesota State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the remote town of Marshall, Southwest Minnesota State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Southwest Minnesota State University accumulate an average of around $31,217 in student debt.

Full Nursing at Southwest Minnesota State University Report

With a ranking of #19, Northwest Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. NTC is a small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.

On average, nursing graduates from NTC take out $31,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

Herzing University - Minneapolis landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Minneapolis, Herzing University - Minneapolis is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Nursing majors at Herzing University - Minneapolis take out an average of $45,508 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $204.

Full Nursing at Herzing University - Minneapolis Report

#21

Creighton University

Omaha, NE

With a ranking of #21, Creighton University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Creighton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Omaha.

Nursing majors at Creighton take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $483, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Creighton University Report

#22

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN

Capella University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, nursing majors at Capella University accumulate an average of around $27,599 in student debt.

Read More…

#23

St Olaf College

Northfield, MN

St Olaf College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region list. St. Olaf is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Northfield.

Nursing majors at St. Olaf take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Nursing at St Olaf College

Bryan College of Health Sciences ranked #24 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Lincoln, Bryan College of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Bryan College of Health Sciences carry an average student debtload of $30,125. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $234.

Full Nursing at Bryan College of Health Sciences Report

Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region list. Goldfarb School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Louis.

Nursing majors at Goldfarb School of Nursing take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $350.

Read full report on Nursing at Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College

Rest of the Top Best Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region

#26

Augsburg University

Minneapolis, MN
#28

Winona State University

Winona, MN

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 Nursing Schools in the Plains States Region award.

Rank College Location
29 Minnesota State University - Moorhead Moorhead, MN
30 Luther College Decorah, IA
31 Northwestern College Orange City, IA
32 Minnesota State University - Mankato Mankato, MN
33 Concordia College at Moorhead Moorhead, MN
34 Rasmussen University - Kansas Topeka, KS
35 Augustana University Sioux Falls, SD
36 Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO
37 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
38 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 14,890
Iowa 2,966
Nebraska 1,908
Missouri 6,840
Kansas 2,633
South Dakota 1,022
North Dakota 976

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

Nursing Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

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.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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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