2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2019-2020, 31,017 people earned their degree in early childhood education, making the major the 34th most popular in the United States.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 13,068 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 398 colleges that offered a degree in early childhood education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality early childhood education programs that also have a lower cost than 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 early childhood education program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education (Income $30-$48k)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanderbilt University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 3 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Vanderbilt, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Vanderbilt is $6,017 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, 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 96%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k. This large school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 158 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k list, UW Seattle has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus is $7,467 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, 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 93%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large public school situated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It awarded 98 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
UNC Chapel Hill not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $6,063 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Out of the 398 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Hunter College landed the #4 spot on the list. Hunter College is located in New York, New York and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 20 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.
The yearly cost to attend Hunter College is $2,394 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brooklyn College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k. Brooklyn, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 89 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on this list, Brooklyn College is in the top on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend Brooklyn College is $2,898 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low student loan default rate of 5.0% 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%.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Brooklyn College
California State University - Fullerton landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This large school is located in Fullerton, California, and it awarded 518 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
Cal State Fullerton also took the #16 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $6,100 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Fullerton.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Cal State Fullerton
Florida International University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Florida International University is located in Miami, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 208 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.
On top of its placing in this ranking, FIU also did well on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category. It costs about $6,683 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend FIU.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Florida International University
Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Purdue is a large school located in West Lafayette, Indiana that handed out 17 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Purdue, the school also landed the #23 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Purdue is $5,879 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Central Florida came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Orlando, Florida, this large public school awarded 71 degrees to qualified bachelors’s child development students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCF, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Central Florida is $7,847 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Early Childhood Education at University of Central Florida
California State University - Los Angeles landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. California State University - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 385 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.
It costs about $2,117 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Cal State LA.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Los Angeles Early Childhood Education Report
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #11. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.
UIUC also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $8,464 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low 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%.
University of South Florida - Main Campus landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. USF Tampa is a large school located in Tampa, Florida that handed out 15 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, USF Tampa also did well on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The yearly cost to attend University of South Florida - Main Campus is $5,616 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Bloomington, Indiana, this large public school handed out 11 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s child development students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at IU Bloomington, the school also landed the #22 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Indiana University - Bloomington is $6,192 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Indiana University - Bloomington
With a ranking of #14, The City College of New York did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large public school awarded 15 degrees to qualified bachelors’s child development students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for The City College of New York is $2,947 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read more about Early Childhood Education at The City College of New York
California State University - Northridge ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. CSUN is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 352 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, CSUN also did well on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category. It costs about $6,883 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Northridge.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at California State University - Northridge
Brigham Young University - Idaho ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Rexburg, Idaho is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for BYU - I is $3,595 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
California State University - Bakersfield landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. CSUB is a fairly large school located in Bakersfield, California that handed out 114 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, CSUB also did well on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Bakersfield is $3,880 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
University of North Florida ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of North Florida is a fairly large public school situated in Jacksonville, Florida. It awarded 28 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
On top of its placing in this ranking, UNF also did well on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for UNF is $5,942 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.
California State University - Dominguez Hills came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Carson, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 194 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills is $3,115 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - Dominguez Hills
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this large public school handed out 22 degrees to qualified bachelors’s child development students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UMN Twin Cities is also in the top of our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. It costs about $8,418 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
With a ranking of #21, California State University - Fresno did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Fresno, California, this large public school handed out 96 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s child development students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $3,731 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Fresno State.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%.
Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - Fresno
California State University - Sacramento landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Sacramento, California, this large public school handed out 479 degrees to qualified bachelors’s child development students in 2019-2020.
Sac State also claimed a top spot on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $7,823 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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%.
University of Georgia did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #23. This large school is located in Athens, Georgia, and it awarded 130 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
UGA also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $10,241 for bachelor’s degree child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Georgia.
The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read more about Early Childhood Education at University of Georgia
Heritage University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #24. This small school is located in Toppenish, Washington, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Heritage University is $10,065 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Heritage University
Florida Gulf Coast University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k list. FGCU is located in Fort Myers, Florida and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.
FGCU excels when it comes to child development quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $8,748 for Bachelor’s Degree Child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend FGCU.
Full Florida Gulf Coast University Early Childhood Education Report
Rest of the Best 50 in Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $30-$48k
While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Louisiana Tech University | Ruston, LA |
| 52 | Louisiana State University - Shreveport | Shreveport, LA |
| 53 | Northeastern State University | Tahlequah, OK |
| 53 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville, IL |
| 55 | Ball State University | Muncie, IN |
| 56 | Saint Johns River State College | Palatka, FL |
| 57 | San Diego State University | San Diego, CA |
| 58 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | Honolulu, HI |
| 59 | University of Missouri - St Louis | Saint Louis, MO |
| 60 | Central Washington University | Ellensburg, WA |
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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.
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