by our College Data Analytics Team
[Urban Studies/Affairs](/majors/social-sciences/urban-studies/urban-studies-affairs/) 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 1 schools to find the best return on investment for urban studies/affairs students.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in urban studies/affairs, balancing cost against outcomes.
For return on investment in urban studies/affairs, no school beat Brown University this year. Located in the city of Providence, Brown University is a large private not-for-profit university. Students from in state pay about $71,312 in tuition and fees. Urban Studies/affairs graduates carry a median of $14,000 in student loans. Early-career urban studies/affairs graduates make about $48,731. Set against $14,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 5% of applicants are accepted.
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.