2023 Best Value Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2020-2021, 2,419 people earned their degree in urban and regional planning, making the major the 183rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, urban and regional planning graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $51,745 and had an average of $23,296 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 118 urban and regional planning graduates with average earnings and debt of $47,433 and $26,475 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in urban and regional planning. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality urban and regional planning programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the urban and regional planning program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Urban & Regional Planning Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$7,698 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 40 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our plains states region urban planning students whose families make $0-$30k list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $7,698 for Plains States Region Urban Planning students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Urban & Regional Planning Report

2

Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$9,766 Average Net Price

$48,142 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Ames, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s urban planning degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.

Iowa State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $9,766 for plains states region urban planning students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full Iowa State Urban & Regional Planning Report

3

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

#3 in overall quality

$11,672 Average Net Price

$44,380 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Nebraska - Lincoln. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Nebraska - Lincoln is a large school located in Lincoln, Nebraska that handed out 9 ’s urban planning degrees in 2020-2021.

UNL also took the #3 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Nebraska - Lincoln is $11,672 for Plains States Region Urban Planning students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full University of Nebraska - Lincoln Urban & Regional Planning Report

• Best Value Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

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