2023 Best Value Colleges for Industrial Design (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Product Design Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 1,792 people earned their degree in industrial design, making the major the 304th most popular in the United States.

Across the Plains States region, there were 88 industrial design graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Product Design Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered a degree in industrial design. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent industrial design programs, but they also 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 industrial design program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Product Design Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 Product Design Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Product Design Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Industrial Design (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$8,609 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Product Design Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k. This large school is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it awarded 23 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.

UMN Twin Cities also took the #2 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $8,609 for Plains States Region Product Design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read more about Industrial Design at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2

Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$11,427 Average Net Price

$48,142 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 61 ’s product design degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our plains states region product design students whose families make $30-$48k list, Iowa State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $11,427 for plains states region product design students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 Industrial Design at Iowa State University

• Best Value Colleges for Industrial Design (Income $30-$48k)

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.