2024 Best Accredited Online Colleges for Registered Nursing

REGISTERED NURSING DEGREES

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES

More college students study registered nursing than any other subject. An average focus hands out 6,156 undergraduate degrees a year; last year, 146,866 students received an undergraduate degree in registered nursing. Western Governors University​ accounted for 9,573 of those degrees (#1 in America). Schools in Illinois gave out more degrees than any US State (11,938).

Bachelor's degrees in registered nursing are offered at 1,091 colleges in the USA; accordingly, selecting the right college can potentially be challenging. Four-year degrees in registered nursing are available at 5.7 times more colleges than the typical subject, making it the 14th most universally available U.S. degree.

GRADUATE DEGREES

While last May, 89% of degrees in registered nursing were undergrad degrees; 11% were postgrad degrees. Registered nursing is the 10th most popular advanced degree in America, with 18,536 degrees granted. To put that in context, grad degrees in registered nursing are 6.7 times more popular among master's & doctor's students than the average concentration.

In Total, 165,402 students received a bachelor's or higher in registered nursing last year.

ONLINE REGISTERED NURSING DEGREES

44,544 of those 165,402 alumni (26.9%) were conferred their degrees online - 35,800 undergrad students and 8,744 postgrads. As you can likely see, more study registered nursing online than any other subject. It is the most in-demand remote discipline with 74.4 times the national average of 481 undergrads per course of study. For postgrads, it ranks 4th, with 14.2 times the average number of master's or doctor's students per focus (481).

Western Governors University​ awarded more online bachelor's degrees in registered nursing than any other US college (9,573). Last fall, 98,630 undergraduate students were attending the college exclusively remotely, 100% of their student body. They offer 30 entirely remote subjects, which is 100% of their courses.

Further, Utah graduates more registered nursing online students than any other state (9,609 undergraduate degrees awarded last May). On its own, Utah graduates 27% of the United States of America's remote students.

24.4% of all four-year degrees in registered nursing are completed via fully remote programs, (47.2% for postgrad degrees). 82.53% of Chamberlain University-Illinois'​ last undergraduate class majored in registered nursing comprehensively remote, higher than any other school in the United States. 6,532 students in their 7,915 student class were conferred an online four-year degree in registered nursing. They offer 1 areas of study remote, and had 12,110 enrolled online college students last fall. That's 83% of the student body.

482 institutions in the country grant bachelor's degrees via an online program, making it the 14th most widely offered remote degree. Narrowly north of three in seven schools offering the degree even have a comprehensively online option, and 50% of colleges giving out the degree remotely are public. Ohio has the most comprehensively online programs of any state, with 33 schools to choose from.

If you desire to study registered nursing online, we recommend that you view Oregon Health & Science University, as it has the best registered nursing program in the USA. They also grant an additional 8 degrees online, so you may explore classes inside other majors. Further, they have 138 online college students, which is 18% of the whole student body.

PARTIALLY ONLINE REGISTERED NURSING DEGREES

• Registered nursing is the most in-demand partially online four-year degree in the United States of America
• Registered nursing is the 28th most commonly available partially online bachelor's degree coast-to-coast
• Last spring, 35,281 students received a bachelor's or higher in registered nursing partially online
• Chamberlain University-Illinois​ granted 768 partially online undergrad degrees in registered nursing, more than any other college in the United States
• Colleges from Texas conferred the most partially online undergraduate degrees in registered nursing last spring (2,828)
• The typical subject is offered partially online at approximately 154 institutions

IN-PERSON REGISTERED NURSING DEGREES

• 76,860 people last May completed undergraduate degrees in registered nursing in-person
• Registered nursing is the 42nd most broadly available in-person undergraduate degree in the United States
• 52.33% of all college degree in registered nursing are done in-person
• 100% of Samuel Merritt University's​ last undergraduate class studied registered nursing in-person, higher than any other U.S. school
• 90% of last spring's in-person degrees in registered nursing were four-year degrees; 10% were graduate degrees
• 44.36% of all graduate degrees in registered nursing are done totally in-person

REGISTERED NURSING OVERVIEW

A nursing degree from an online accredited college can be your ticket to a rewarding career in any of these roles:

• Surgical Nurse
• Nurse Midwife
• Home Care Nurse
• Research Nurse
• Nurse Educator
• Pain Management Nurse
• ICU Nurse
• Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

Nurses across different nursing practices rate their career satisfaction levels 94% or higher. Most nurses say that helping people or making a difference in people's lives is the most rewarding aspect of the job for them, including:

• 50% of nurse midwives
• 40% of RNs, and
• 44% Licensed Practical Nurses (LPRs)

However, the nursing profession is experiencing higher demand than supply. States like California, Texas, New Jersey, and South Carolina have nurse deficits of 10,000 to over 44,000 each.

And according to LinkedIn data, demand for nurses has spiked in the past few years.

Thanks to technological advancements, you can earn a  prestigious nursing degree from an online accredited college regardless of where you live. A nursing degree from one of the best online schools can help you pursue goals like these:

• Improve and save lives
• Enjoy a reliable income and job security
• Travel and work anywhere in the world
• Specialize in any medical field
• Have essential medical knowledge outside work

What kind of job you get depends entirely on you. The average salary for nursing careers ranges from $75,000 to $200,000, depending on the field and level of specialization.

Read on to find several accredited schools that rank among the best online schools for nursing programs.