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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

10 Ranked Colleges
271 Degrees Awarded
$16,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 56,762 social work students received their degree, making the major the 8th most popular in the country.

Across Iowa, there were 457 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 271 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in social work. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent social work 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 social work program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Social Work Schools

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 Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” 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 Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. UNI is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 72 bachelors’s social work degrees to qualified students.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Northern Iowa is $10,757 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%.

Full UNI Social Work Report

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 54 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $12,975 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at University of Iowa

#3

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loras College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loras, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Loras is $16,154 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.2% 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 Social Work at Loras College

#4

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Buena Vista University landed the #4 spot on the list. BVU is located in Storm Lake, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s social work degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at BVU, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $14,210 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Buena Vista University.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full BVU Social Work Report

#5

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Wartburg College landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Waverly, Iowa, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Wartburg not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Wartburg College is $16,334 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Wartburg

#6

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa
#5 in overall quality

Briar Cliff University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in Sioux City, Iowa, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Briar Cliff also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Briar Cliff is $20,372 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Social Work at Briar Cliff

#7

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
#6 in overall quality

Mount Mercy University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. This small school is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Mount Mercy did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Mount Mercy University is $13,992 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.

Full Mount Mercy University Social Work Report

#8

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa
#10 in overall quality

Grand View University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Des Moines, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

Grand View University also took the #10 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $18,481 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Grand View University.

Full Grand View University Social Work Report

#9

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa
#4 in overall quality

Luther College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Luther is a private not-for-profit institution located in Decorah, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k list, Luther has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Luther College is $16,636 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Work at Luther

#10

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa
#7 in overall quality

Dordt University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Dordt University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Sioux Center, Iowa. It awarded 14 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Dordt also took the #7 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Dordt is $24,967 for iowa bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Dordt University

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.

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