College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Registered Nursing Schools in Iowa

33 Colleges in Iowa
2,545 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in registered nursing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #3 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 33 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Registered Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,545 degrees in registered nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Registered Nursing School

Best Registered Nursing Schools in Iowa Your choice of registered nursing school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for registered nursing schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Registered Nursing Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Registered Nursing
Bachelor's Degrees in Registered Nursing

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Registered Nursing Schools in Iowa ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Registered Nursing in Iowa

The schools below may not offer all types of registered nursing degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Iowa Schools in Registered Nursing

1
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IA
215 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

University of Iowa is a good decision for students interested in a degree in registered nursing. Iowa is a very large public university located in the small city of Iowa City. A Best Colleges rank of #84 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were approximately 215 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from University of Iowa

2
Allen College crest
Allen College
Waterloo, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IA
129 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Allen College is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in registered nursing. Located in the city of Waterloo, Allen College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were approximately 129 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Allen College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Allen College

3
Luther crest
Luther College
Decorah, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
22nd Most Popular In IA
39 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in registered nursing needs to look into Luther College. Luther is a small private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Decorah. A Best Colleges rank of #372 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Luther is a great college overall.

There were approximately 39 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Luther in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Luther College

4
Morningside crest
Morningside College
Sioux City, IA
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
28th Most Popular In IA
34 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in registered nursing needs to look into Morningside College. Located in the city of Sioux City, Morningside is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #438 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Morningside is a great college overall.

There were approximately 34 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Morningside in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Morningside College

5
St Luke's College crest
St Luke's College
Sioux City, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In IA
75 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

St Luke's College is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Sioux City.

There were about 75 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at St Luke's College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from St Luke’s College

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IA
323 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Des Moines, Mercy College of Health Sciences is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

There were roughly 323 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Mercy College of Health Sciences in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Mercy College of Health Sciences

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In IA
73 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Graceland Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit university located in the remote area of Lamoni. A Best Colleges rank of #763 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Graceland Lamoni is a great university overall.

There were roughly 73 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Graceland Lamoni in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Graceland University - Lamoni

8
Briar Cliff crest
Briar Cliff University
Sioux City, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
18th Most Popular In IA
50 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Briar Cliff is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Sioux City. This university ranks 25th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 50 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Briar Cliff in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Briar Cliff University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In IA
90 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Davenport, St. Ambrose University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #441 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means St. Ambrose University is a great university overall.

There were about 90 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at St. Ambrose University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Saint Ambrose University

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IA
166 Registered Nursing Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #501 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means DMACC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 166 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at DMACC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in registered nursing from Des Moines Area Community College


 

Best Registered Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 742 12,882
Missouri 693 4,413
Kansas 599 2,307
Nebraska 500 1,571
North Dakota 416 909
South Dakota 381 941

View All Rankings >

Registered Nursing is one of 23 different types of Nursing programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 296
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 41
Nursing Practice 38
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 26
Critical Care Nursing 13
School Nursing 11
Nurse Anesthetist 10
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 8
Nursing Administration 5
Nursing Science 4

View All Registered Nursing Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options