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2025 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

95 Colleges in the Southwest Region
22,505 Bachelor's Degrees
$77,874 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 2025, College Factual analyzed 95 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 22,505 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 the Southwest Region 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 full 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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for 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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in the Southwest Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

19 Top Southwest Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Nursing

1
915 Annual Graduates
$77,083 Median Starting Salary
$28,809 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in nursing has to take a look at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Located in the large city of Lubbock, TTUHSC is a public university with a small student population.

After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn about $77,083 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

2
312 Annual Graduates
$80,433 Median Starting Salary
$22,760 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat The University of Texas Medical Branch if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing. UTMB Galveston is a small public university located in the city of Galveston.

Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch receive $2,559 more than the standard nursing grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Texas Medical Branch

3
349 Annual Graduates
$82,043 Median Starting Salary
$18,000 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing. UTHealth is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Houston.

Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston earn a boost of approximately $4,169 above the typical earnings of nursing majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

4
3,721 Annual Graduates
$92,781 Median Starting Salary
$20,978 Median Student Debt

Grand Canyon University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from Grand Canyon University get an earnings boost of around $14,907 above the average income of nursing majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Grand Canyon University

5

UT Health San Antonio is a small public university located in the large city of San Antonio.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $70,826 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

6
169 Annual Graduates
$77,808 Median Starting Salary
$78,467 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $77,808 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Texas Christian University

7
343 Annual Graduates
$70,625 Median Starting Salary
$29,621 Median Student Debt

UOHSC is a small public university located in the city of Oklahoma City.

Soon after graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients typically make about $70,625 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Oklahoma - Health Sciences Center

8

UOPX - Arizona is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the large city of Phoenix.

Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Phoenix - Arizona make $20,952 more than the standard nursing graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Phoenix - Arizona

9
2,652 Annual Graduates
$85,513 Median Starting Salary
$12,577 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Arlington, UT Arlington is a public university with a very large student population.

Those nursing students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Arlington earn $7,639 more than the standard nursing student.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Texas at Arlington

10
277 Annual Graduates
$95,859 Median Starting Salary
$62,391 Median Student Debt

West Coast University - Dallas is a small private for-profit university located in the midsize city of Richardson.

Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from West Coast University - Dallas receive an earnings boost of around $17,985 above the typical income of nursing majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from West Coast University - Dallas

11
118 Annual Graduates
$75,095 Median Starting Salary
$21,478 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $75,095.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The University of Texas at Austin

12
419 Annual Graduates
$76,782 Median Starting Salary
$20,605 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients usually make about $76,782 in their early careers.

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

13
272 Annual Graduates
$78,168 Median Starting Salary
$17,968 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $78,168 in the first five years of their career.

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

14
362 Annual Graduates
$75,213 Median Starting Salary
$64,721 Median Student Debt

Baylor is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Waco.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $75,213 for their early career.

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

15
275 Annual Graduates
$78,297 Median Starting Salary
$25,386 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $78,297.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Texas A&M University - College Station

16
395 Annual Graduates
$78,180 Median Starting Salary
$25,213 Median Student Debt

ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Tempe.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn around $78,180 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Arizona State University - Tempe

17
474 Annual Graduates
$76,344 Median Starting Salary
$9,934 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Denton, TWU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make around $76,344 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Texas Woman’s University

18
OCU crest
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City, OK
102 Annual Graduates
$72,980 Median Starting Salary
$33,201 Median Student Debt

OCU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Oklahoma City.

After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $72,980 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Oklahoma City University

19

UNM is a very large public university located in the large city of Albuquerque.

Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from University of New Mexico - Main Campus get an earnings boost of around $4,342 above the average earnings of nursing majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Rest of the Top Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
20 The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, TX
21 South Texas College McAllen, TX
22 Chamberlain University - Arizona Phoenix, AZ
23 The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX
24 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
25 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center - El Paso El Paso, TX
26 University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio, TX
27 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
28 San Jacinto Community College Pasadena, TX
29 Chamberlain University - Texas Houston, TX
30 MSU Texas Wichita Falls, TX
31 Austin Community College District Austin, TX

Best Nursing Colleges by State

Explore the best nursing colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 245 11,711
Arizona 200 7,361
Oklahoma 190 1,534
New Mexico 133 741

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 20,792
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,540
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 102
Nursing Science 57
Clinical Nurse Specialist 14

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 3,043
Health Sciences & Services 2,189
Public Health 2,176
Communication Sciences 1,677
Mental & Social Health Services 913
Health/Medical Prep Programs 823
Allied Health Professions 712
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 643
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 429
Dental Support Services 293

Notes and References

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