2025 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Minnesota

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.

College Factual reviewed 20 schools in Minnesota to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 8,551 bachelor's degrees in nursing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Bachelor's Degree

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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

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.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for nursing to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.

Our complete 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

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 Minnesota list to help you make the college decision.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in Minnesota

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for nursing students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Minnesota Schools for a Bachelor's in Nursing

1

Winona State University
Winona, MN

206 Annual Graduates

$75,313 Median Starting Salary

$16,500 Median Student Debt

Winona State University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing. Winona State is a medium-sized public university located in the distant town of Winona.

After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically earn around $75,313 at the beginning of their careers.

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

2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

136 Annual Graduates

$72,929 Median Starting Salary

$23,000 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in nursing needs to check out University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $72,929 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

3

The College of Saint Scholastica
Duluth, MN

304 Annual Graduates

$75,499 Median Starting Salary

$20,154 Median Student Debt

The College of Saint Scholastica is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Duluth, St. Scholastica is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $75,499.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from The College of Saint Scholastica

4

St Catherine University
Saint Paul, MN

163 Annual Graduates

$76,084 Median Starting Salary

$34,708 Median Student Debt

St Catherine University is a great choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $76,084.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from St Catherine University

5

Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, MN

353 Annual Graduates

$75,655 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the nursing program earn an average of $75,655 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Minnesota State University - Mankato

6

Rasmussen University - Minnesota
St. Cloud, MN

122 Annual Graduates

$74,861 Median Starting Salary

$19,439 Median Student Debt

Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a moderately-sized private for-profit university located in the city of St. Cloud.

After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $74,861 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Rasmussen University - Minnesota

7

Bethel University Minnesota
Saint Paul, MN

91 Annual Graduates

$75,371 Median Starting Salary

$38,261 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Saint Paul, Bethel University Minnesota is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $75,371 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Bethel University Minnesota

8

Herzing University - Minneapolis
St. Louis Park, MN

118 Annual Graduates

$75,774 Median Starting Salary

$15,683 Median Student Debt

Herzing University - Minneapolis is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of St. Louis Park.

Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $75,774 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Herzing University - Minneapolis

9

College of Saint Benedict
Saint Joseph, MN

59 Annual Graduates

$75,656 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize suburb of Saint Joseph, CSB is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $75,656 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from College of Saint Benedict

10

Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, MN

107 Annual Graduates

$77,421 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $77,421.

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

Best Nursing Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	228	3,224
Iowa	197	1,352
Kansas	184	1,454
Nebraska	180	1,229
North Dakota	149	589
South Dakota	148	814

View All Rankings >

Nursing Related Rankings by Major

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	8,194
Nursing Practice	331
Nursing Administration	26

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services	582
Health Sciences & Services	251
Public Health	215
Communication Sciences	179
Dental Support Services	133
Allied Health Professions	102
Mental & Social Health Services	98
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	59
Health/Medical Prep Programs	15
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	15

Notes and References

• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle. More about our data sources and methodologies.