2023 Best Value Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Urban & Regional Planning is the 183rd most popular major in the country with 2,419 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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.

This year’s “Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the urban and regional planning program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to 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 $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$12,911 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 40 ’s urban planning degrees in 2020-2021.

UMN Twin Cities also made our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is $12,911 for plains states region urban planning students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full UMN Twin Cities Urban & Regional Planning Report

2

Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$14,641 Average Net Price

$48,142 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Urban Planning Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 38 ’s urban planning degrees to qualified students.

Iowa State also made our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $14,641 for Plains States Region Urban Planning students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%.

Full Iowa State Urban & Regional Planning Report

3

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

#3 in overall quality

$15,394 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 $48-$75k. UNL is a large public school situated in Lincoln, Nebraska. It awarded 9 ’s urban planning degrees in 2020-2021.

UNL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Nebraska - Lincoln is $15,394 for Plains States Region Urban Planning students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read more about Urban & Regional Planning at UNL

• Best Value Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $48-$75k)

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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