Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region

13 Ranked Colleges
143 Degrees Awarded
$17,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor's in the Plains States Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 17,269 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 47th most popular in the United States.

Across the Plains States region, there were 1,443 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 143 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in public administration. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public administration programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public administration program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

Top 13 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in the Plains States Region

#1

Winona State University

Winona, Minnesota
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Winona State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. Winona State is a medium-sized school located in Winona, Minnesota that handed out 6 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students list, Winona State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Winona State University is $17,656 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at Winona State University

#2

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, North Dakota
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Dakota landed the #2 spot on the list. UND is a fairly large school located in Grand Forks, North Dakota that handed out 13 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students list, UND has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Dakota is $15,738 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at University of North Dakota

#3

Park University

Parkville, Missouri
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Park University landed the #3 spot on the list. Park University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Parkville, Missouri. It awarded 22 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

Park University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Park University is $15,579 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

Full Park University Public Administration Report

#4

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UNI is $15,620 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at University of Northern Iowa

#5

Lindenwood University

Saint Charles, Missouri
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Lindenwood University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Saint Charles, Missouri, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Lindenwood University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lindenwood University is $17,491 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at Lindenwood University

#6

Columbia College

Columbia, Missouri
#11 in overall quality

Columbia College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Columbia College Missouri is a private not-for-profit institution located in Columbia, Missouri. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia College Missouri not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $26,730 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students per year to attend Columbia College Missouri.

Read full report on Public Administration at Columbia College Missouri

#7

Washburn University

Topeka, Kansas
#10 in overall quality

Washburn University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Washburn University is located in Topeka, Kansas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students list, Washburn University has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Washburn University is $14,481 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

Read more about Public Administration at Washburn University

#8

Walden University

Minneapolis, Minnesota
#12 in overall quality

Walden University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #8. Walden University is a private for-profit institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students list, Walden University has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking.

Read full report on Public Administration at Walden University

#9

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas
#4 in overall quality

University of Kansas landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Lawrence, Kansas, this large public school awarded 21 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at KU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for KU is $18,918 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full KU Public Administration Report

#10

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa
#5 in overall quality

Upper Iowa University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #10. UIU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Fayette, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students list, UIU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Upper Iowa University is $21,624 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

Read more about Public Administration at UIU

#11

University of Missouri - St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri
#7 in overall quality

University of Missouri - St Louis came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Saint Louis, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMSL, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMSL is $9,435 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

Full University of Missouri - St Louis Public Administration Report

#12

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa
#6 in overall quality

Buena Vista University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. BVU is located in Storm Lake, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

BVU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $17,544 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students per year to attend Buena Vista University.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Public Administration at BVU

#13 in overall quality

Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Springfield, Missouri, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

Drury University - CCPS also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #13. The estimated yearly cost for Drury University - CCPS is $13,233 for plains states region bachelor’s degree public admin students.

Read full report on Public Administration at Drury University - CCPS

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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

Footnotes

  • *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.

Featured Public Administration Schools

Find Schools Near You