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2025 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Kentucky

20 Colleges in Kentucky
2,851 Bachelor's Degrees
$71,832 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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 20 schools in Kentucky to determine which ones were the best for nursing students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,851 bachelor's degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 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 schools 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
1,068 Annual Graduates
$76,234 Median Starting Salary
$9,956 Median Student Debt

Galen College of Nursing - Louisville is one of the best schools in the United States 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 $4,402 more than the typical nursing graduate.

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

2
267 Annual Graduates
$69,027 Median Starting Salary
$18,684 Median Student Debt

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

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $69,027.

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

3
387 Annual Graduates
$71,461 Median Starting Salary
$29,850 Median Student Debt

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

Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $71,461 in the first five years of their career.

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

4
Bellarmine U crest
Bellarmine University
Louisville, KY
142 Annual Graduates
$70,544 Median Starting Salary
$31,000 Median Student Debt

Bellarmine University is a great decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in nursing. Bellarmine U is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Louisville.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $70,544 for their early career.

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

5
WKU crest
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY
169 Annual Graduates
$68,294 Median Starting Salary
$23,964 Median Student Debt

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

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $68,294 in their early career salary.

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

6
NKU crest
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY
231 Annual Graduates
$68,649 Median Starting Salary
$27,617 Median Student Debt

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

After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn about $68,649 in the first five years of their career.

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

7
118 Annual Graduates
$68,633 Median Starting Salary
$10,637 Median Student Debt

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

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $68,633.

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

8
Spalding crest
Spalding University
Louisville, KY

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

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make an average of $65,552 in their early career salary.

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

9

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

Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from University of the Cumberlands earn a boost of about $9,180 above the average earnings of nursing graduates.

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

10

Located in the town of Murray, Murray State is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients generally make about $68,608 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Murray State University

Best Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Nursing Colleges 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 2,773
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 77
Nursing Administration 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health Sciences & Services 280
Public Health 251
Communication Sciences 153
Health & Medical Administrative Services 127
Allied Health Professions 118
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 92
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 71
Mental & Social Health Services 68
Dental Support Services 61
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 21

Notes and References

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