Ranked #2 in popularity, nursing is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2022 ranking, College Factual looked at 128 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the most popular for nursing students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 13,753 bachelor's degrees in nursing during the 2019-2020 academic year.
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Bachelor's Degree
Your choice of school for getting your bachelor's degree in nursing matters.
As an aid in helping you pick the right school for you, we created our Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region ranking.
While being high in popularity does not always mean a school has a quality nursing program, it is a sign that a large number of students choose the school. This may be due to it being a great value, it offering a stellar educational experience, or the subject is a major focus of the school.
We have also developed a number of other rankings to help guide you in your decision-making process.
To begin with, if this is not the degree level you are most interested in, you may want to check out one of the others noted above.
If you would prefer to limit your search to a specific state or region of the county, see our rankings by location.
Plus, you can view our other rankings for nursing.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Most Popular Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in the Plains States Region
The following list ranks the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
19 Most Well Attended Schools for Nursing Students Working on Their Bachelor's
Capella University is a popular choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in nursing. Capella University is a very large private for-profit university located in the large city of Minneapolis. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #3 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Minnesota.
There were roughly 2,035 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Capella University in the most recent data year.
Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from Capella University receive $12,887 more than the standard nursing graduate.
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Walden University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing. Walden University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the large city of Minneapolis.
There were about 892 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Walden University in the most recent year we have data available.
Bachelor's recipients from the nursing program at Walden University make $16,187 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College is one of the most popular schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Goldfarb School of Nursing is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Saint Louis. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Missouri.
There were approximately 410 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Goldfarb School of Nursing in the most recent data year.
Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically make around $54,400 at the beginning of their careers.
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at University of Nebraska Medical Center if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Omaha, UNMC is a public university with a small student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Nebraska.
There were approximately 364 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at UNMC in the most recent data year.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $57,700 for their early career.
Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public university with a fairly large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in South Dakota.
There were about 313 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at South Dakota State in the most recent data year.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $56,000 in the first couple years of their career.
St. Scholastica is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Duluth. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #4 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Minnesota.
There were roughly 312 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at St. Scholastica in the most recent data year.
Bachelor's recipients from the nursing degree program at The College of Saint Scholastica earn $4,587 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Omaha, Creighton is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #2 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Nebraska.
There were approximately 278 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Creighton in the most recent year we have data available.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $61,300 for their early career.
Located in the large city of Kansas City, Rockhurst is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. You also may be intersted to know that the school ranks #4 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Missouri.
There were approximately 269 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Rockhurst in the most recent year we have data available.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program report average early career earnings of $59,200.
Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #6 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Minnesota.
There were roughly 248 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Winona State in the most recent year we have data available.
Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from Winona State University earn a boost of approximately $4,187 above the typical earnings of nursing graduates.
Minnesota State Mankato is a large public university located in the small city of Mankato. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #9 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Minnesota.
There were roughly 229 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Minnesota State Mankato in the most recent data year.
Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from Minnesota State University - Mankato earn $6,487 more than the typical nursing graduate.
Located in the midsize city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a fairly large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #3 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Missouri.
There were about 215 nursing students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent data year.
Soon after graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients typically earn about $55,000 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a very large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #3 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Iowa.
There were approximately 214 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.
After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients usually make around $59,500 in their early careers.
Located in the medium-sized city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public university with a fairly large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in North Dakota.
There were approximately 202 nursing students who graduated with this degree at North Dakota State University in the most recent data year.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $61,000.
Located in the city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #2 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Missouri.
There were about 192 nursing students who graduated with this degree at SLU in the most recent data year.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $58,000 in the first couple years of their career.
Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a fairly large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for bachelor's degrees in nursing in Kansas.
There were roughly 192 nursing individuals who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent data year.
After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients usually earn around $57,500 in the first five years of their career.
Rest of the Top Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Nursing students in the Plains States Region that almost earned our Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
Your choice of school for getting your bachelor's degree in nursing matters.
As an aid in helping you pick the right school for you, we created our Most Popular Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region ranking.
