2023 Best Value Colleges for Urban Studies in the Plains States Region
8
Ranked Colleges
73
Degrees Awarded
$18,600
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
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 Plains States region, there were 73 urban studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,534 and $20,380 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in urban studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great urban studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the urban studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Plains States Region”.
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. 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 Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region urban studies students.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Urban Studies in the Plains States Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large school located in Mankato, Minnesota that handed out 9 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Minnesota State Mankato not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Minnesota State University - Mankato is $17,159 for Plains States Region Urban Studies students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Minnesota State University - Mankato Urban Studies Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Saint Cloud State University landed the #2 spot on the list. St. Cloud State University is located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s urban studies degrees to qualified students.
St. Cloud State University also made our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $14,581 for plains states region urban studies students per year to attend Saint Cloud State University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Urban Studies at Saint Cloud State University
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #3 spot on the list. UMN Duluth is located in Duluth, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 ’s urban studies degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Duluth, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Duluth is $18,505 for Plains States Region Urban Studies students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UMN Duluth Urban Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Nebraska at Omaha. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. This fairly large school is located in Omaha, Nebraska, and it awarded 4 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region urban studies students list, UNOMAHA has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $13,914 for Plains States Region Urban Studies students per year to attend UNOMAHA.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Nebraska at Omaha Urban Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region. UMN Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 37 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region urban studies students list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $17,878 for Plains States Region Urban Studies students per year to attend UMN Twin Cities.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Urban Studies at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of Missouri - Kansas City landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. University of Missouri - Kansas City is a fairly large school located in Kansas City, Missouri that handed out 6 ’s urban studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UMKC also took the #5 spot in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMKC is $15,702 for Plains States Region Urban Studies students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Urban Studies at UMKC
With a ranking of #7, Augsburg University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified ’s urban studies students in 2020-2021.
Augsburg also took the #7 spot in our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Augsburg University is $23,898 for plains states region urban studies students.
Read full report on Urban Studies at Augsburg University
With a ranking of #8, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region list. Saint Louis, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s urban studies degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
WUSTL did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Urban Studies Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for WUSTL is $26,921 for Plains States Region Urban Studies students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Urban Studies at WUSTL
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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.
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