2023 Best Value Colleges for Urban Studies in the Great Lakes Region
12
Ranked Colleges
133
Degrees Awarded
$20,800
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 1,507 people earned their degree in urban studies, making the major the 209th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, urban studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $39,193 and had an average of $21,495 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 133 urban studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,848 and $26,222 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in urban studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality urban studies 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 urban studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Urban Studies Schools
The urban studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region”.
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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region urban studies students.
Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Urban Studies in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cleveland State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, this fairly large public school handed out 56 degrees to qualified ’s urban studies students in 2020-2021.
Cleveland State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cleveland State University is $16,943 for great lakes region urban studies students.
Full Cleveland State University Urban Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it awarded 13 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UWM also made our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is $17,486 for great lakes region urban studies students.
Read more about Urban Studies at UWM
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Xavier University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region. Xavier University is a medium-sized school located in Cincinnati, Ohio that handed out 5 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Xavier also made our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Xavier University is $34,592 for great lakes region urban studies students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Xavier Urban Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wright State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Dayton, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s urban studies degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
Wright State University - Main Campus also made our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $15,962 for great lakes region urban studies students per year to attend Wright State University - Main Campus.
Read more about Urban Studies at Wright State University - Main Campus
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. UC is a public institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region urban studies students list, UC has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $22,415 for great lakes region urban studies students per year to attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Urban Studies at UC
Ohio University - Athens Campus landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ohio University - Athens Campus is a large school located in Athens, Ohio that handed out 8 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
OHIO Athens did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend OHIO Athens is $23,831 for great lakes region urban studies students.
Full OHIO Athens Urban Studies Report
University of Michigan - Dearborn did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. University of Michigan - Dearborn is a medium-sized school located in Dearborn, Michigan that handed out 4 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UM Dearborn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $12,855 for great lakes region urban studies students per year to attend UM Dearborn.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Michigan - Dearborn Urban Studies Report
With a ranking of #8, Wayne State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Wayne State is a public institution located in Detroit, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 16 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Wayne State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Wayne State University is $13,962 for great lakes region urban studies students.
Read full report on Urban Studies at Wayne State University
Wheaton College Illinois ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Wheaton College Illinois is a small school located in Wheaton, Illinois that handed out 5 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Wheaton College Illinois not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Wheaton College Illinois is $25,692 for Great Lakes Region Urban Studies students.
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. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Urban Studies at Wheaton College Illinois
With a ranking of #10, Roosevelt University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 3 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Roosevelt, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Roosevelt is $21,678 for great lakes region urban studies students.
Full Roosevelt University Urban Studies Report
Elmhurst University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #11. Elmhurst, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s urban studies degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
Elmhurst also took the #4 spot in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Elmhurst University is $20,100 for Great Lakes Region Urban Studies students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Urban Studies at Elmhurst
The College of Wooster landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Wooster College is a small school located in Wooster, Ohio that handed out 2 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wooster College, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The College of Wooster is $24,249 for great lakes region urban studies students.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 full report on Urban Studies at Wooster College
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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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