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Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

22 Colleges
$21,405 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$64,238 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Nursing is the most popular major in Kentucky with 6,395 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's healthcare students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

The Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking is one of many tools that Healthcare Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in Kentucky to see which bachelor's degree 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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky

Check out the nursing bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY

Our analysis found Northern Kentucky University to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Kentucky. NKU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Highland Heights.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NKU are $10,392 a year. On average, nursing graduates from NKU take out $32,669 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 $252.

NKU did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list.

Full Nursing at Northern Kentucky University Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Murray State University is a great value for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Murray State is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Murray.

Murray State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,252 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Murray State take out an average of $23,439 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Murray State University

#3

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Kentucky helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Kentucky. UK is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Lexington.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UK are $12,610 a year. On average, nursing graduates from UK take out $27,393 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $363.

UK did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list.

Read full report on Nursing at University of Kentucky

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Kentucky University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the distant town of Richmond, Eastern is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Eastern are $9,752 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Eastern take out $32,291 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $242, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Eastern Kentucky University Report

#5

University of the Cumberlands

Williamsburg, KY

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of the Cumberlands. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the remote town of Williamsburg, Cumberlands is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cumberlands are $9,875 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Cumberlands accumulate an average of around $30,755 in student debt.

Read More…

#6

Kentucky State University

Frankfort, KY

Kentucky State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. KY State is a small public school located in the distant town of Frankfort.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at KY State are $9,020 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from KY State carry an average student debtload of $42,799.

Full Nursing at Kentucky State University Report

#7

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY

With a ranking of #7, University of Louisville did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. UofL is a fairly large public school located in the city of Louisville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UofL are $12,370 per year. On average, nursing graduates from UofL take out $24,742 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $178.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UofL is ranked #5 for overall quality for nursing in Kentucky.

Full Nursing at University of Louisville Report

#8

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

Western Kentucky University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. WKU is a large public school located in the city of Bowling Green.

WKU undergraduate students pay an average of $10,992 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at WKU take out an average of $26,389 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $200.

Read full report on Nursing at Western Kentucky University

With a ranking of #9, Morehead State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Morehead State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Morehead.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Morehead State University are $9,462 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Morehead State University take out $30,832 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

Beckfield College - Florence came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. Beckfield College - Florence is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Florence.

Beckfield College - Florence undergraduate students pay an average of $13,295 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at Beckfield College - Florence accumulate an average of around $42,848 in student debt.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
Tennessee 6,004
Georgia 7,112
West Virginia 1,771
Virginia 6,775
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
South Carolina 3,296
Alabama 7,364
Arkansas 2,882

Nursing is one of 30 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.

Nursing Focus Areas

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

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 22 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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