by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. College Factual has developed its Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision. This list is proof that you shouldn't avoid normally high-priced schools, since the actual price may be very affordable if you qualify for financial aid.
In This Year's Value Report:
We analyzed 115 schools across the Plains States Region to determine which have the best value Master's Degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
The first step of determing the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking is to look at the school's average net price for students with families that make $30-$48k a year. The net price is the sum of tuition, fees, and room and board minus any financial aid awarded to the student. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named Washington University in St Louis the best value (income $30-$48k) school in the Plains States Region for students working on their master’s degree. WUSTL is a private not-for-profit institution located in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Not only is Washington University in St Louis a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Missouri for overall quality.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. UMN Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Minnesota.
Learn More About Value at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
The quality degree programs at Missouri University of Science and Technology helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a medium-sized public school situated in Rolla, Missouri.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Missouri University of Science and Technology is ranked #4 for quality in the state of Missouri.
Full Missouri University of Science and Technology Value Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. Located in Ames, Iowa, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Iowa State University is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Iowa.
A rank of #5 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list means University of Missouri - Columbia is a great place for students working on their degree. University of Missouri - Columbia is a large public school located in Columbia, Missouri.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Missouri - Columbia is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Missouri.
College of Saint Mary came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Saint Mary is a private not-for-profit institution located in Omaha, Nebraska.
Not only is College of Saint Mary a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Nebraska for overall quality.
Truman State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. Truman State is a public institution located in Kirksville, Missouri.
Truman State University has the honor of being ranked #10 in Missouri for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Missouri - St Louis came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. UMSL is a fairly large public school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Not only is University of Missouri - St Louis a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Missouri for overall quality.
University of Iowa did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #9. Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa.
Not only is University of Iowa a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Iowa for overall quality.
University of Northern Iowa ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. UNI is a medium-sized public school situated in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
University of Northern Iowa has the honor of being ranked #4 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #11. This large public school is located in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Not only is University of Nebraska - Lincoln a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Nebraska for overall quality.
University of Minnesota - Duluth ranked #12 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. UMN Duluth is a public institution located in Duluth, Minnesota.
Not only is University of Minnesota - Duluth a great value, but it is also ranked #14 in Minnesota for overall quality.
Valley City State University landed the #13 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. This small public school is located in Valley City, North Dakota.
Valley City State University has the honor of being ranked #5 in North Dakota for overall quality on top of being a good value.
North Dakota State University - Main Campus came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Fargo, North Dakota, the school is a fairly large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, North Dakota State University - Main Campus is ranked #3 for quality in the state of North Dakota.
Full North Dakota State University - Main Campus Value Report
University of North Dakota ranked #15 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. University of North Dakota is a fairly large public school located in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
University of North Dakota has the honor of being ranked #2 in North Dakota for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Minot State University landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. MSU is located in Minot, North Dakota and has a small student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Minot State University is ranked #4 for quality in the state of North Dakota.
Maharishi International University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. MIU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fairfield, Iowa.
Not only is Maharishi International University a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Iowa for overall quality.
Minnesota State University - Mankato came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Minnesota State Mankato is a public institution located in Mankato, Minnesota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Minnesota State University - Mankato is ranked #9 for quality in the state of Minnesota.
Learn More About Value at Minnesota State University - Mankato
Kansas State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #19. Located in Manhattan, Kansas, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Kansas State University is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Kansas.
University of Missouri - Kansas City did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #20. UMKC is a public institution located in Kansas City, Missouri.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Missouri - Kansas City is ranked #11 for quality in the state of Missouri.
University of Nebraska at Omaha ranked #21 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. University of Nebraska at Omaha is a fairly large public school located in Omaha, Nebraska.
University of Nebraska at Omaha has the honor of being ranked #6 in Nebraska for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Northwest Missouri State University landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Northwest Missouri State University is a medium-sized public school located in Maryville, Missouri.
Not only is Northwest Missouri State University a great value, but it is also ranked #14 in Missouri for overall quality.
Read full value report on Northwest Missouri State University
Bellevue University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. Bellevue, Nebraska is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Bellevue University has the honor of being ranked #4 in Nebraska for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Kansas ranked #24 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region list. University of Kansas is a large public school located in Lawrence, Kansas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Kansas is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Kansas.
Winona State University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Winona State is located in Winona, Minnesota and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Winona State University is ranked #10 for quality in the state of Minnesota.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
