by our College Data Analytics Team
[Pharmacy](/majors/health-care-professions/pharmacy-pharmaceutical-sciences/pharmacy/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong pharmacy education at a price that pays off.
For its 2027 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for pharmacy students.
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If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the pharmacy degrees they offer, see the list below.
Leading the list is University Of Iowa, our #1 best value for pharmacy in Iowa. Located in the city of Iowa City, University Of Iowa is a very large public university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $11,283, with out-of-state students paying around $33,371. Students borrow a median of $24,463 to complete the pharmacy program here. Early-career pharmacy graduates make about $83,848. That is a strong return on a $24,463 median debt. Roughly 84% of applicants are accepted.
Students looking for strong value in pharmacy will find it at Drake University, which ranked #2. Drake University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Des Moines. In-state tuition and fees average $51,960. Typical student debt for pharmacy graduates is $23,000. Pharmacy graduates of Drake University earn a median of $56,228 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $23,000 median debt. The acceptance rate is 64%.
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 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 · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.