2023 Best Value Colleges for Library & Information Science (Income $75-$110k) in the Plains States Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Library & Information Science is the 121st most popular major in the country with 5,950 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, library and information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $43,949 and had an average of $27,472 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 365 library and information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,760 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in library and information science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great library and information science programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the library and information science program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Library & Information Science (Income $75-$110k) in the Plains States Region

1

Emporia State University
Emporia, Kansas

#1 in overall quality

$16,759 Average Net Price

$40,991 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Emporia State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Emporia, Kansas, this medium-sized public school handed out 165 degrees to qualified ’s library science students in 2020-2021.

ESU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Library & Information Science Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $16,759 for plains states region library science students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend ESU.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full ESU Library & Information Science Report

2

University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$20,719 Average Net Price

$50,430 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 33 ’s library science degrees in 2020-2021.

Iowa also took the #2 spot in our “Best Library & Information Science Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $20,719 for Plains States Region Library Science students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Library & Information Science at Iowa

3

University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, Missouri

#3 in overall quality

$16,436 Average Net Price

$41,823 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Central Missouri. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k list. Located in Warrensburg, Missouri, this fairly large public school awarded 25 diplomas to qualified ’s library science students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our plains states region library science students whose families make $75-$110k list, UCM has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Library & Information Science Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCM is $16,436 for Plains States Region Library Science students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Library & Information Science at UCM

4

St Catherine University
Saint Paul, Minnesota

#4 in overall quality

$20,503 Average Net Price

$53,926 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Catherine University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Library Science Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k list. Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 33 diplomas to qualified ’s library science students in 2020-2021.

St. Kate’s did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Library & Information Science Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $20,503 for plains states region library science students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend St. Kate’s.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 Library & Information Science at St Catherine University

• Best Value Colleges for Library & Information Science (Income $75-$110k)

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 Diliff.