NurseSavvy ranking · Iowa · updated October 10, 2026

Best Nursing Schools in Iowa (2026): The NurseSavvy Top 10

We ranked all 36 RN programs in Iowa that publish a first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate, on the four things that decide whether a program gets you to a nursing license you can afford: passing the NCLEX, actually finishing, the cost next to what nurses earn in Iowa, and what graduates earn a year out.

Mount Mercy University comes out on top. Here are the top 10, with every number’s source — and you can re-rank them by what matters to you.

No school can pay for placement. Public data only — see the full methodology.

Rank it your way

Rank Iowa’s 36 RN programs on what matters to you

NCLEX pass rate, students who finish, cost vs nurse pay, grads’ early pay — compare in-state, by region, or nationwide.

The top 10 nursing programs in Iowa

Scores are out of 100 under the default NurseSavvy weights. A school with two programs (say, an ADN and a BSN) can appear twice.

1
Mount Mercy University
BSN· Private nonprofit
67score
A 95.8% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 72 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
95.8% of 72
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$20,168/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$66,647 1 yr out
2
Northwestern College
BSN· Private nonprofit
67score
A 100% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 25 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
100% of 25
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$25,907/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$71,479 1 yr out
3
Allen College
BSN· Private nonprofit
67score
A 94.7% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 94 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
94.7% of 94
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
Not publishedfill-in
Early-career earnings
$65,924 1 yr out
4
University of Iowa
BSN· Public
66score
A 94.2% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 156 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
94.2% of 156
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$22,531/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$69,368 1 yr out
5
St. Luke's College
BSN· Private nonprofit
65score
A 100% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 4 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
100% of 4
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$19,820/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$71,064 1 yr out
6
Kirkwood Community College
ADN· Public
65score
A 94.7% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 151 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
94.7% of 151
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$9,705/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$64,461 1 yr out
7
Indian Hills Community College
ADN· Public
63score
A 100% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 23 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
100% of 23
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$10,693/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$56,923 1 yr out
8
Northeast Iowa Community College
ADN· Public
63score
A 98.4% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 63 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
98.4% of 63
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$11,272/yr net price
Early-career earnings
Not publishedfill-in
9
Southwestern Community College
ADN· Public
62score
A 93.9% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 33 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
93.9% of 33
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$9,871/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$63,505 1 yr out
10
Iowa Lakes Community College
ADN· Public
61score
A 96.9% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate across 32 test-takers carries its score.
NCLEX strength
96.9% of 32
Students who finish
Not publishedfill-in
Cost-to-pay value
$13,933/yr net price
Early-career earnings
$61,157 1 yr out

Fill-in: a figure the program hasn’t published is scored at the 33rd percentile of programs that publish it (same degree type) — not its own number.

All 54 approved programs in Iowa Full rankings table

The Iowa leaders on each measure

Different students weigh these differently — here is who leads on each one alone, among programs that publish it.

Highest NCLEX pass rate: Northwestern College (BSN), 100% first-time.
Lowest average net price: Western Iowa Tech Community College, $8,770/yr.
Highest graduates’ pay: Dordt University, $71,680 one year out.
Top ADN vs top BSN: Kirkwood Community College (#6 overall) and Mount Mercy University (#1 overall).

No Iowa RN program in our data has published its own completion rate yet, so every program here scores the completion fill-in.

How we ranked Iowa’s nursing schools

NCLEX pass rate (33%). The 2025 first-time NCLEX-RN rate from the Iowa board of nursing, steadied for small cohorts.
Students who finish (33%). The program’s own on-time completion rate, where a board or the program publishes it.
Cost vs nurse pay (20%). Average net price per year next to Iowa’s median RN pay (College Scorecard + BLS).
Graduates’ early pay (14%). What the program’s nursing graduates earn one year out, next to the state’s RN median.

A missing figure is a labeled 33rd-percentile fill-in, never a guess. Programs without a published NCLEX rate, and direct-entry master’s programs, are not ranked. Every formula and source →

Frequently asked questions

What is the best nursing school in Iowa?

Under the NurseSavvy ranking, Mount Mercy University (BSN) ranks #1 of 36 RN programs in Iowa with a score of 67 out of 100 and a 95.8% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate. "Best" depends on what you weigh most — re-rank the list on this page by your own priorities.

How did NurseSavvy rank Iowa nursing schools?

Every RN program with a published 2025 first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate is scored 0–100 on four public measures: NCLEX pass rate (33%), students who finish (33%), cost next to local RN pay (20%), and graduates’ pay one year out (14%). Pass rates come from the Iowa board of nursing; cost and pay from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.

What does “fill-in” mean on this list?

When a program has not published a figure, we do not guess it. It is scored at the 33rd percentile of programs (same degree type) that do publish it — below typical — and labeled “fill-in” wherever it appears. Publishing its real number can only help a program that performs well.

Can a school pay to rank higher?

No. Schools cannot pay, partner, sponsor, or advertise their way to a better rank. Every input is public data, and the same formula applies to every program.