Des Moines, IA (population: 200,202) has two nursing schools within its city limits. Grand View University, the highest ranked school in the city with a nursing program, has a total student population of 2,039. It is the 606th highest ranked school in the USA and the 8th highest in the state of Iowa (#1 is Luther College). To learn more about nursing programs in Des Moines, ratemyprofessors.com has reviews of nursing professors at Grand View University such as Beth Gaul, LU Kimpel, Kathleen Lind, Judy Orth, and Janet Thayer.
Nursing students from Des Moines schools who go on to become nurses, registered nurses, practical nurses, pediatric nurses, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 2,583,770 people working as registered nurses alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $66,530. Also, Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses make on average $40,900 per year and there are about 728,670 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Des Moines-West Des Moines area alone, there are 960 employed licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earning an average salary of $38,190. Registered nurses in this area earn $55,890/yr and there are 6,260 employed.
Des Moines lies in Polk county, which is one of the 52 counties in Iowa. Overall, the Des Moines-West Des Moines area has 322,000 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $20/hr average worker wage, and a $42,120 average annual salary. Thus, about 19 out of every 1000 jobs in Des Moines are held by registered nurses, and 3/1000 are held by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
Of the 2 nursing schools in Des Moines, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Grand View University comes out as the most expensive ($16,682/yr) for nursing students, with Mercy College of Health Sciences as the lowest, reported at only $16,028/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Des Moines |
| Urbandale | IA | - | 1 | 15.697 | 16 | 5.8 miles |
| West Des Moines | IA | 57,065 | 1 | 4.37611 | 3 | 6.8 miles |
| Ankeny | IA | 45,142 | 2 | 40.688 | 102 | 9.7 miles |
| Ames | IA | 58,120 | 1 | 34.322 | 6 | 30.4 miles |
| Fort Dodge | IA | - | 2 | 25.3587 | 65 | 69.4 miles |
| Cedar Falls | IA | - | 3 | 27.7287 | 174 | 88.8 miles |
| Waterloo | IA | 67,011 | 3 | 23.0675 | 66 | 90.7 miles |