2024 Best Value Colleges for Economics in Iowa
7
Ranked Colleges
321
Degrees Awarded
$22,900
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 49,055 people earned their degree in economics, making the major the 19th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, economics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $48,736 and had an average of $22,046 in loans still to pay off.
Across Iowa, there were 321 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $47,196 and $21,370 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in economics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality economics 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 economics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa.
Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Economics in Iowa
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #1 spot on the list. Iowa is a large school located in Iowa City, Iowa that handed out 135 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Iowa is $19,401 for iowa economics students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Read more about Economics at Iowa
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 50 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our iowa economics students list, Iowa State has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $16,002 for iowa economics students per year to attend Iowa State.
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 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Iowa State Economics Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa list. University of Northern Iowa is a medium-sized public school situated in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It awarded 28 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
UNI not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Economics Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Northern Iowa is $16,438 for iowa economics students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Economics at UNI
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Drake University landed the #4 spot on the list. Drake is located in Des Moines, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 17 ’s economics degrees to qualified students.
Drake did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Economics Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Drake University is $29,903 for Iowa Economics students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Economics at Drake University
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Dubuque landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Dubuque, Iowa, and it awarded 2 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
UD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Economics Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $27,592 for Iowa Economics students per year to attend University of Dubuque.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full UD Economics Report
With a ranking of #6, Luther College did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa list. Luther College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Decorah, Iowa. It awarded 9 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Luther, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Luther College is $25,538 for Iowa Economics students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 Economics at Luther
Grinnell College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa ranking. Grinnell, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s economics degrees to 41 students in 2020-2021.
Grinnell also made our “Best Economics Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Grinnell College is $25,182 for Iowa Economics students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Grinnell College Economics Report
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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
- *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
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