2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning in the Plains States Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 2,548 people earned their degree in urban and regional planning, making the major the 170th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, urban and regional planning graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,040 and had an average of $39,156 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 156 urban and regional planning graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,900 and $28,410 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 86 urban and regional planning graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,438 and $39,783 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in urban and regional planning. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent urban and regional planning programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the urban and regional planning program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Urban & Regional Planning Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region master’s degree urban planning students.

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning in the Plains States Region

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$25,948 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$51,273 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region list. Iowa State is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 25 masters’s urban planning degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region master’s degree urban planning students list, Iowa State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Iowa State University are $25,948.

Read more about Urban & Regional Planning at Iowa State

#2

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas

#3 in overall quality

$25,007 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$53,608 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region list. KU is located in Lawrence, Kansas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 masters’s urban planning degrees to qualified students.

KU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Kansas are $25,007.

Read more about Urban & Regional Planning at KU

#3

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$28,845 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$48,041 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 26 masters’s urban planning degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities also made our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at UMN Twin Cities are $28,845, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UMN Twin Cities Urban & Regional Planning Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning

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

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Arcaddmarketing.

Featured Architecture / Urban Planning Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >