2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $0-$30k) 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. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 2,548 people earned their degree in urban and regional planning, making the major the 170th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, urban and regional planning graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,040 and had an average of $39,156 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 156 urban and regional planning graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,900 and $28,410 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 52 urban and regional planning graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in urban and regional planning. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great urban and regional planning programs and 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 urban and regional planning program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Urban & Regional Planning Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$10,054 Average Net Price

$40,821 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Ames, Iowa, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s urban planning degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also took the #1 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $10,054 for plains states region bachelor’s degree urban planning students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Iowa State University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at Iowa State University

#2

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$15,285 Average Net Price

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Brookings, South Dakota, this fairly large public school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s urban planning students in 2019-2020.

South Dakota State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend South Dakota State University is $15,285 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Urban Planning students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full South Dakota State University Urban & Regional Planning Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning (Income $0-$30k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Arcaddmarketing.

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