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Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

42 Colleges
$6,600 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$65,824 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Healthcare Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky ranking. Our analysis looked at 42 schools in Kentucky 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.

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 Schools in Kentucky

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

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

$4,568 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Gateway Community and Technical College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Kentucky. Located in the large suburb of Florence, Gateway is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gateway are $4,568 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Gateway carry an average student debtload of $23,604.

Read More…

$4,568 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 42 schools in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, Bluegrass Community and Technical College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Lexington, Bluegrass Community and Technical College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Bluegrass Community and Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,568 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Bluegrass Community and Technical College carry an average student debtload of $23,125.

Bluegrass Community and Technical College also took the #2 spot in our Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky rankings.

Read full report on Nursing at Bluegrass Community and Technical College

$4,568 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Jefferson Community and Technical College is a great value for nursing students. Located in the city of Louisville, Jefferson Community and Technical College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Jefferson Community and Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,568 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Jefferson Community and Technical College accumulate an average of around $23,128 in student debt.

Jefferson Community and Technical College also took the #5 spot in our Best Nursing Schools in Kentucky rankings.

Full Nursing at Jefferson Community and Technical College Report

$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Henderson Community College is a great value for nursing students. Located in the rural area of Henderson, Henderson Community College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Henderson Community College are $4,488 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Henderson Community College take out is $23,500.

Read full report on Nursing at Henderson Community College

#5

Hopkinsville Community College

Hopkinsville, KY
$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Hopkinsville Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky list. Hopkinsville Community College is a small public school located in the town of Hopkinsville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Hopkinsville Community College are $4,488 a year. Nursing majors at Hopkinsville Community College take out an average of $18,850 in student loans while working on their egree.

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$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky ranking. SKYCTC is a small public school located in the city of Bowling Green.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SKYCTC are $4,488 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at SKYCTC accumulate an average of around $18,228 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College

$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

Owensboro Community and Technical College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky list. Located in the rural area of Owensboro, Owensboro Community and Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

Owensboro Community and Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,488 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Owensboro Community and Technical College take out $14,745 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Owensboro Community and Technical College Report

#8

Madisonville Community College

Madisonville, KY
$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

Madisonville Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky ranking. Madisonville Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Madisonville.

Madisonville Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,488 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Madisonville Community College carry an average student debtload of $18,068.

Read full report on Nursing at Madisonville Community College

$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

Big Sandy Community and Technical College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Kentucky list. Big Sandy Community and Technical College is a small public school located in the town of Prestonsburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Big Sandy Community and Technical College are $4,488 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Big Sandy Community and Technical College take out $15,960 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Big Sandy Community and Technical College Report

$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, West Kentucky Community and Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the remote town of Paducah, West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

West Kentucky Community and Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,488 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from West Kentucky Community and Technical College take out $16,070 in student loans while working on their degree.

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 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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