2022 Best Value Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Civil Engineering is the 45th most popular major in the country with 21,561 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, civil engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $60,122 and had an average of $23,807 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 292 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $61,500 and $21,392 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in civil engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality civil engineering 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 civil engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Civil Engineering Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$10,843 Average Net Price

$46,410 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 Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Iowa State is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 210 ’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also took the #1 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $10,843 for iowa civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Iowa State.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Civil Engineering at Iowa State University

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,073 Average Net Price

$44,594 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k. Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 77 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $15,073 for iowa civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Iowa.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Civil Engineering at Iowa

#3

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$22,177 Average Net Price

$48,233 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Dordt University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k. Dordt University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Sioux Center, Iowa. It awarded 5 ’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Dordt, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $22,177 for iowa civil eng students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Dordt.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Dordt University Civil Engineering Report

• Best Value Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

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 Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.

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