Best colleges for nursing in Minnesota
Concordia University-Saint Paul ranks first in Minnesota for nursing value (#145 nationally, value score 64.9): graduates earn $93,347 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $16,222 a year.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard field of study, reporting year 2025 · 18 Minnesota colleges ranked · Updated November 4, 2026
Best nursing colleges in Minnesota
Concordia University-Saint Paul ranks first in Minnesota for nursing value (#145 nationally, value score 64.9): graduates earn $93,347 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $16,222 a year. 18 Minnesota colleges qualify. At the median one, nursing graduates earn $84,481 and the average net price is $19,723 a year.
Source: U.S. College Scorecard field of study, 2025
What the data shows
Key findings
- 18 Minnesota colleges qualify. At the median one, nursing graduates earn $84,481 and the average net price is $19,723 a year.
- The lowest average net price among them is at Saint Cloud State University: $16,062 a year.
- Median earnings
- $84,481
- National: $85,171
- Median net price
- $19,723
- National: $18,014
- Median federal debt
- $20,838
- nursing graduates
- Public colleges
- 8 of 18
- in this list
18 colleges
The Minnesota ranking
Ordered by the national value score; the national rank is shown with each college. Earnings are medians 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
- Rank in Minnesota 1
Concordia University-Saint Paul
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · #145 nationally
64.9Value- Earnings
- $93,347
- Net price
- $16,222
- Federal debt
- $20,000
- Graduation rate
- 50%
- Rank in Minnesota 2
Minneapolis, MN · Private nonprofit · #263 nationally
55.0Value- Earnings
- $93,046
- Net price
- $23,390
- Federal debt
- Not reported
- Graduation rate
- 55%
- Rank in Minnesota 3
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Moorhead, MN · Public · #266 nationally
54.8Value- Earnings
- $86,563
- Net price
- $17,601
- Federal debt
- $18,750
- Graduation rate
- 53%
- Rank in Minnesota 4
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN · Public · #268 nationally
54.8Value- Earnings
- $82,960
- Net price
- $17,330
- Federal debt
- $19,902
- Graduation rate
- 85%
- Rank in Minnesota 5
Southwest Minnesota State University
Marshall, MN · Public · #270 nationally
54.7Value- Earnings
- $83,735
- Net price
- $16,501
- Federal debt
- $12,500
- Graduation rate
- 48%
- Earnings
- $84,436
- Net price
- $16,327
- Federal debt
- $17,587
- Graduation rate
- 51%
- Rank in Minnesota 7
Minnesota State University-Mankato
Mankato, MN · Public · #320 nationally
51.4Value- Earnings
- $82,429
- Net price
- $19,702
- Federal debt
- $12,639
- Graduation rate
- 56%
- Rank in Minnesota 8
The College of Saint Scholastica
Duluth, MN · Private nonprofit · #325 nationally
51.2Value- Earnings
- $85,824
- Net price
- $26,830
- Federal debt
- $16,466
- Graduation rate
- 67%
- Rank in Minnesota 9
Herzing University-Minneapolis
St. Louis Park, MN · Private nonprofit · #340 nationally
49.8Value- Earnings
- $91,010
- Net price
- $19,744
- Federal debt
- $28,468
- Graduation rate
- 57%
- Rank in Minnesota 10
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · #357 nationally
48.6Value- Earnings
- $85,514
- Net price
- $19,090
- Federal debt
- $24,389
- Graduation rate
- 67%
- Rank in Minnesota 11
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · #395 nationally
46.0Value- Earnings
- $87,511
- Net price
- $30,995
- Federal debt
- $22,836
- Graduation rate
- 72%
- Rank in Minnesota 12
Moorhead, MN · Private nonprofit · #416 nationally
44.2Value- Earnings
- $83,452
- Net price
- $22,280
- Federal debt
- $22,500
- Graduation rate
- 70%
- Earnings
- $84,470
- Net price
- $16,062
- Federal debt
- $23,500
- Graduation rate
- 44%
- Rank in Minnesota 14
Saint Peter, MN · Private nonprofit · #437 nationally
43.0Value- Earnings
- $86,114
- Net price
- $24,148
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 77%
- Earnings
- $80,117
- Net price
- $17,413
- Federal debt
- $20,838
- Graduation rate
- 59%
- Rank in Minnesota 16
Metropolitan State University-Minnesota
Saint Paul, MN · Public · #467 nationally
41.1Value- Earnings
- $83,504
- Net price
- $26,556
- Federal debt
- $14,490
- Graduation rate
- 46%
- Rank in Minnesota 17
Saint Joseph, MN · Private nonprofit · #485 nationally
39.8Value- Earnings
- $84,492
- Net price
- $25,301
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 83%
- Rank in Minnesota 18
University of Northwestern-St Paul
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · #572 nationally
32.0Value- Earnings
- $78,661
- Net price
- $23,688
- Federal debt
- $23,552
- Graduation rate
- 75%
Method: the same value score as the national nursing ranking (earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate, each a national percentile). Data: College Scorecard, reporting year 2025; 2026–27 edition, verified Nov 2026.
Questions about nursing colleges in Minnesota
What are the best colleges for nursing in Minnesota?
By CollegesRef value score, the top 3 Minnesota colleges for nursing are Concordia University-Saint Paul (value score 64.9), Augsburg University (value score 55) and Minnesota State University Moorhead (value score 54.8). The score weighs graduate earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate.
Which Minnesota college has the highest earnings for nursing graduates?
Concordia University-Saint Paul: its nursing graduates have median earnings of $93,347 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
What is the most affordable nursing college in Minnesota on this list?
Saint Cloud State University has the lowest average net price of the ranked Minnesota colleges, $16,062 a year after grants. A family's own price depends on income and aid.
How many Minnesota colleges are ranked for nursing?
18 Minnesota colleges have a nursing bachelor's program with enough graduates and reported earnings, plus a published net price and graduation rate. Ranks shown are national; the state rank is their order within Minnesota.