2026 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Southwest Region
[Urban Studies](/majors/social-sciences/urban-studies/) 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 4 schools to find the best return on investment for urban studies students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Southwest Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in urban studies, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Urban Studies Schools
Our analysis ranked The University Of Texas At Austin the best value for a degree in urban studies in the Southwest Region. The University Of Texas At Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $11,688, while out-of-state students pay about $44,908. Urban Studies graduates carry a median of $21,275 in student loans. Soon after graduation, urban studies degree recipients from The University Of Texas At Austin generally make around $57,819. Set against $21,275 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 27% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced 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 · 4 schools 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.
