2026 Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools in the Southwest Region
[Critical Care Nursing](/majors/health-care-professions/nursing/critical-care-nursing/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 4 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for critical care nursing students.
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2026 Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools in the Southwest Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in critical care nursing, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools
For return on investment in critical care nursing, no school beat The University Of Texas At Tyler this year. The University Of Texas At Tyler is a large public school located in the city of Tyler. Students from in state pay about $9,512 in tuition and fees, compared with $24,512 for out-of-state students. Critical Care Nursing graduates carry a median of $24,356 in student loans. Early-career critical care nursing graduates make about $55,134. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 94% of applicants are accepted.
University Of Arizona is a great value for students pursuing a degree in critical care nursing, landing the #2 spot this year. University Of Arizona is a very large public school located in the city of Tucson. In-state tuition and fees average $13,573, while out-of-state students pay about $39,903. Typical student debt for critical care nursing graduates is $21,500. Critical Care Nursing graduates of University Of Arizona earn a median of $96,470 early in their careers. Set against $21,500 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 86%.
Grand Canyon University came in at #3 on our 2026 list of the best value critical care nursing schools. Set in the city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a very large private for-profit institution. Students from in state pay about $18,508 in tuition and fees. Critical Care Nursing graduates carry a median of $25,500 in student loans. Soon after graduation, critical care nursing degree recipients from Grand Canyon University generally make around $115,226. That is a strong return on a $25,500 median debt. Grand Canyon University admits about 79% of applicants.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
