2026 Best Value Value Schools in the Great Lakes Region
[Value](/majors/ethnic-cultural-gender-studies/other-ethnic-culture-gender-studies/ethnic-cultural-gender-studies-other/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 1 schools to find the best return on investment for value students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Value Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in value, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Value Schools
Our analysis ranked University Of Michigan Ann Arbor the best value for a degree in value in the Great Lakes Region. Set in the city of Ann Arbor, University Of Michigan Ann Arbor is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $18,848, compared with $63,081 for out-of-state students. Value graduates carry a median of $19,137 in student loans. Value graduates of University Of Michigan Ann Arbor earn a median of $66,254 early in their careers. Set against $19,137 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 16% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
This list is compiled 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 · 1 school 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.
