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2024 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

19 Colleges in Kentucky
2,530 Bachelor's Degrees
$58,371 Avg Early-Career Salary
Nursing is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 19 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,530 bachelor's degrees in nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky The nursing bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Nursing Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in Kentucky

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing.

10 Top Kentucky Schools for a Bachelor's in Nursing

1
293 Annual Graduates
$58,034 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

University of Kentucky is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. UK is a very large public university located in the city of Lexington.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $58,034.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Kentucky

2
623 Annual Graduates
$67,568 Median Starting Salary
$45,775 Median Student Debt

Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Louisville, Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville earn $9,197 more than the typical nursing grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Galen College of Nursing - Louisville

3
265 Annual Graduates
$58,080 Median Starting Salary
$23,205 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat University of Louisville if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Louisville, UofL is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $58,080 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Louisville

4
Bellarmine U crest
Bellarmine University
Louisville, KY
156 Annual Graduates
$59,907 Median Starting Salary
$30,800 Median Student Debt

Bellarmine University is a good choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in nursing. Bellarmine U is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Louisville.

After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically earn around $59,907 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Bellarmine University

5
NKU crest
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY
251 Annual Graduates
$56,585 Median Starting Salary
$31,000 Median Student Debt

NKU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Highland Heights.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career wages of $56,585.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Northern Kentucky University

6
WKU crest
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY
185 Annual Graduates
$56,172 Median Starting Salary
$26,330 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Bowling Green, WKU is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make an average of $56,172 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Western Kentucky University

7
153 Annual Graduates
$58,745 Median Starting Salary
$27,370 Median Student Debt

Eastern is a large public university located in the distant town of Richmond.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $58,745 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University

8
Berea crest
Berea College
Berea, KY

Located in the distant town of Berea, Berea is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program report average early career income of $60,236.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Berea College

9
68 Annual Graduates
$58,893 Median Starting Salary
$29,400 Median Student Debt

Cumberlands is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the town of Williamsburg.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $58,893 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of the Cumberlands

10
Spalding crest
Spalding University
Louisville, KY
137 Annual Graduates
$56,254 Median Starting Salary
$30,750 Median Student Debt

Spalding is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Louisville.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program report average early career wages of $56,254.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Spalding University


 

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 9,015
Georgia 224 3,954
Tennessee 220 3,180
North Carolina 213 3,488
Virginia 213 3,096
South Carolina 195 1,605
Alabama 184 2,607
Louisiana 171 1,963
Mississippi 169 1,307
Arkansas 167 1,371
West Virginia 147 774

View All Rankings >

One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 2,445
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 75
Nursing Administration 10

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health Sciences & Services 271
Public Health 243
Health & Medical Administrative Services 157
Communication Sciences 150
Allied Health Professions 149
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 66
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 64
Mental & Social Health Services 63
Dental Support Services 60
Health/Medical Prep Programs 4

Notes and References

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