2026 Best Value Value Schools in the Great Lakes Region
[Value](/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/veterinary-animal-health-technologies/veterinary-animal-health-technologies-other/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for value students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Value Schools in the Great Lakes Region
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the value degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Value Schools
Cuyahoga Community College District earned the #1 spot for value among value schools in the Great Lakes Region. Set in the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga Community College District is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $3,249, compared with $7,249 for out-of-state students. Students borrow a median of $14,636 to complete the value program here. Value graduates of Cuyahoga Community College District earn a median of $39,394 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Valley College Cleveland earned it the #2 place for value. Located in the suburb of Cleveland, Valley College Cleveland is a small private for-profit university. Typical student debt for value graduates is $15,020. Early-career value graduates make about $26,978. That is a strong return on a $15,020 median debt.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
