2021 Most Popular Online Nursing Schools
Finding the Most Popular Online Nursing School for You
In 2018-2019, 305,309 degrees and certificates were awarded to nursing students, making the major the most popular in the country.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare program is right for you. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Healthcare Degree Search has created the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 646 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular online programs for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.
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2021 Most Popular Online Nursing Schools in the United States
Check out the online nursing programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.
Top 25 Most Popular Online Schools in Nursing
Our 2021 rankings named Western Governors University the most popular online school in the United States for nursing students. Located in the suburb of Salt Lake City, WGU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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The excellent online programs at Chamberlain University - Illinois helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Grand Canyon University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Schools list. Located in the large city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Grand Canyon University carry an average student debtload of $32,934. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $378.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend The University of Texas at Arlington. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Schools list. UT Arlington is a fairly large public school located in the city of Arlington.
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Out of the 646 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio University - Athens Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. OHIO Athens is a very large public school located in the distant town of Athens.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from OHIO Athens carry an average student debtload of $23,749. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $264.
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Capella University landed the #6 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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National University College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools ranking. National University College is a large private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Bayamon.
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Walden University landed the #8 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Walden University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.
Nursing majors at Walden University take out an average of $53,556 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $614.
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With a ranking of #9, Excelsior College did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Excelsior College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Albany.
On average, nursing graduates from Excelsior College take out $18,138 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $200.
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Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Schools list. TTUHSC is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Lubbock.
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Rasmussen College - Florida landed the #11 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of Ocala, Rasmussen College - Florida is a private for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Rasmussen College - Florida take out is $22,498. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $233, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Southern New Hampshire University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the suburb of Manchester, SNHU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at SNHU accumulate an average of around $13,608 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $141.
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Rasmussen College - Minnesota landed the #13 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of St. Cloud, Rasmussen College - Minnesota is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Rasmussen College - Minnesota take out $22,498 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $233, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of North Carolina at Wilmington ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public school with a large student population.
On average, nursing graduates from UNCW take out $24,452 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $274.
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Purdue University Northwest landed the #15 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Hammond, Purdue Northwest is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #16, American Sentinel University did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. American Sentinel University is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Aurora.
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Drexel University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Schools list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Drexel accumulate an average of around $34,810 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $394.
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With a ranking of #18, West Coast University - Orange County did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. West Coast University - Orange County is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Anaheim.
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University of Central Florida ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Online Nursing Schools list. Located in the suburb of Orlando, UCF is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Nursing majors at UCF take out an average of $20,200 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $226.
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University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #20 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best nursing programs. Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
On average, nursing graduates from UC take out $30,200 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $334, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Aspen University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #21 on the list. Aspen University is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the large city of Denver.
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University of Phoenix - Arizona did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the large city of Tempe, UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #23, California State University - San Marcos did quite well on this year’s best schools for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public college with a large student population.
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Kaplan University-Indianapolis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for nursing students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Kaplan University-Indianapolis is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Northern Arizona University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools ranking. Located in the city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Nursing majors at NAU take out an average of $28,982 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $324, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Additional Award Winners
This section represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Most Popular Online Nursing Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 646 different United States nursing schools we analyzed.
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 Most Popular Online Nursing Schools award.
Most Popular Online Nursing by Region
View the Most Popular Online Nursing Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Nursing Related Majors
Nursing is one of 34 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.
Nursing Concentrations
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 99,641 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 93,192 |
| Allied Health Professions | 86,697 |
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 82,868 |
| Public Health | 36,569 |
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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Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |
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