2026 Best Value Trasportation Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region
[Trasportation Engineering](/majors/engineering/civil-engineering/transportation-highway-engineering/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find the best return on investment for trasportation engineering students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Trasportation Engineering Schools in the Great Lakes Region
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the trasportation engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Trasportation Engineering Schools
Our analysis ranked University Of Michigan Ann Arbor the best value for a degree in trasportation engineering in the Great Lakes Region. Set in the city of Ann Arbor, University Of Michigan Ann Arbor is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $18,848, compared with $63,081 for out-of-state students. Trasportation Engineering graduates carry a median of $18,750 in student loans. Early-career trasportation engineering graduates make about $66,254. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 16%.
Students looking for strong value in trasportation engineering will find it at Illinois Institute Of Technology, which ranked #2. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Institute Of Technology is a large private not-for-profit university. In-state tuition and fees average $52,202. Trasportation Engineering graduates carry a median of $26,000 in student loans. Trasportation Engineering graduates of Illinois Institute Of Technology earn a median of $75,829 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $26,000 median debt. The acceptance rate is 55%.
Lawrence Technological University came in at #3 on our 2026 list of the best value trasportation engineering schools. Set in the city of Southfield, Lawrence Technological University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $44,760. Students borrow a median of $30,197 to complete the trasportation engineering program here. Early-career trasportation engineering graduates make about $74,924. Set against $30,197 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 56% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 3 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
