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2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

19 Ranked Colleges
1,244 Degrees Awarded
$22,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking - to help you make that decision.

With 259,493 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, registered nursing is the 3rd most popular major in the United States.

Across Iowa, there were 2,554 registered nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,244 registered nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking analyzed 19 colleges that offered a degree in registered nursing. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great registered nursing programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the registered nursing program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Registered Nursing Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa.

Top 19 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Registered Nursing in Iowa

#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees to qualified students.

Iowa State also made our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $15,496 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students per year to attend Iowa State University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Registered Nursing at Iowa State

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 19 schools in the Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 214 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also took the #3 spot in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $19,145 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Iowa Registered Nursing Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mercy College of Health Sciences. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small school located in Des Moines, Iowa that handed out 189 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

Mercy College of Health Sciences also made our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $21,989 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students per year to attend Mercy College of Health Sciences.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Registered Nursing at Mercy College of Health Sciences

#4

Allen College

Waterloo, Iowa
#10 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Allen College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Located in Waterloo, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 123 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s registered nursing students in 2019-2020.

Allen College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Registered Nursing at Allen College

#5

St Luke's College

Sioux City, Iowa
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 19 schools in the Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, St Luke’s College landed the #5 spot on the list. St Luke’s College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Sioux City, Iowa. It awarded 42 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students list, St Luke’s College has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend St Luke’s College is $22,114 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Registered Nursing at St Luke’s College

#6

Northwestern College

Orange City, Iowa
#4 in overall quality

Northwestern College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking, coming in at #6. NWC is located in Orange City, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students list, NWC has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern College is $22,968 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Northwestern College Registered Nursing Report

#7

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Dordt University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s registered nursing students in 2019-2020.

Dordt also took the #6 spot in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Dordt is $25,102 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Dordt Registered Nursing Report

#8

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
#14 in overall quality

Grand View University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking, coming in at #8. Grand View University is a small school located in Des Moines, Iowa that handed out 48 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

Grand View University also took the #14 spot in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $19,826 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students per year to attend Grand View University.

Read more about Registered Nursing at Grand View University

#11 in overall quality

Graceland University - Lamoni landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Located in Lamoni, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 96 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s registered nursing students in 2019-2020.

Graceland Lamoni also took the #11 spot in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Graceland University - Lamoni is $17,650 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students.

Read more about Registered Nursing at Graceland University - Lamoni

#10

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa
#7 in overall quality

Saint Ambrose University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Davenport, Iowa. It awarded 75 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Saint Ambrose University is $26,204 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students.

Full St. Ambrose University Registered Nursing Report

#11

Iowa Wesleyan University

Mount Pleasant, Iowa
#19 in overall quality

Iowa Wesleyan University landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Iowa Wesleyan is a small school located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa that handed out 9 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa Wesleyan also made our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #19. The yearly cost to attend Iowa Wesleyan University is $26,312 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students.

Read more about Registered Nursing at Iowa Wesleyan

#12

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa
#17 in overall quality

Upper Iowa University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking, coming in at #12. This small school is located in Fayette, Iowa, and it awarded 99 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students list, UIU has also earned the #17 rank in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Upper Iowa University is $21,624 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students.

Read more about Registered Nursing at UIU

#13

Morningside College

Sioux City, Iowa
#12 in overall quality

Morningside College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Morningside is a small school located in Sioux City, Iowa that handed out 28 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Morningside, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Morningside is $21,337 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students.

Read more about Registered Nursing at Morningside

#14

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #14, Mount Mercy University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s registered nursing degrees to 108 students in 2019-2020.

Mount Mercy not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $20,857 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students per year to attend Mount Mercy University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Registered Nursing at Mount Mercy University

#15

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa
#16 in overall quality

Briar Cliff University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Briar Cliff is located in Sioux City, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 48 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees to qualified students.

Briar Cliff did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #16 on our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Briar Cliff is $20,604 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students.

Read full report on Registered Nursing at Briar Cliff

#16

University of Dubuque

Dubuque, Iowa
#13 in overall quality

University of Dubuque did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking, coming in at #16. This small school is located in Dubuque, Iowa, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

UD also made our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #13. The estimated yearly cost for UD is $26,748 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students.

Read full report on Registered Nursing at UD

#17

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
#18 in overall quality

Clarke University landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Clarke University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Dubuque, Iowa. It awarded 29 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

Clarke also made our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #18. It costs about $34,204 for iowa bachelor’s degree registered nursing students per year to attend Clarke University.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Clarke Registered Nursing Report

#18

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa
#2 in overall quality

Luther College landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Decorah, Iowa. It awarded 39 bachelors’s registered nursing degrees in 2019-2020.

Luther not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Luther College is $23,620 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Registered Nursing at Luther

#19

Coe College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
#15 in overall quality

With a ranking of #19, Coe College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Registered Nursing Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s registered nursing degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

Coe also took the #15 spot in our “Best Registered Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $19,955 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nursing students per year to attend Coe.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Registered Nursing at Coe College

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Notes and References

References

  • 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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