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2025 Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Plains States Region

45 Colleges in the Plains States Region
4,631 General Business Degrees Awarded
$51,660 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in general business/commerce, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #16 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 45 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for general business/commerce students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 4,631 degrees in general business/commerce to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Business/Commerce School

Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Plains States Region The general business program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Business/Commerce rankings. We derive our Best Overall General Business/Commerce School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

General Business/Commerce Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in General Business
Bachelor's Degrees in General Business
Master's Degrees in General Business
Doctor's Degrees in General Business

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for General Business/Commerce in the Plains States Region

The schools below may not offer all types of general business degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools in General Business

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
717 General Business Degrees Awarded
$58,197 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of Missouri - Columbia if you want to pursue a degree in general business/commerce. Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #131 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Mizzou is a great university overall.

There were approximately 717 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general business/commerce program at University of Missouri - Columbia make $6,536 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Missouri - Columbia

2
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
233 General Business Degrees Awarded
13.7% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Kansas if you wish to pursue a degree in general business/commerce. Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means KU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 233 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the general business program make around $49,339 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Kansas

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
455 General Business Degrees Awarded
$58,706 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat University of Missouri - St Louis if you want to pursue a degree in general business/commerce. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, UMSL is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #632 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMSL is a great university overall.

There were about 455 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at UMSL in the most recent year we have data available. Those general business/commerce students who get their degree from University of Missouri - St Louis make $7,046 more than the average general business student.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Missouri - St Louis

4
Bellevue University crest
Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 General Business Degrees Awarded
$58,128 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Bellevue University if you wish to pursue a degree in general business/commerce. Located in the large suburb of Bellevue, Bellevue University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #390 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Bellevue University is a great university overall.

There were about 107 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Bellevue University in the most recent year we have data available. Those general business/commerce students who get their degree from Bellevue University make $6,468 more than the standard general business grad.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Bellevue University

5
Columbia College Missouri crest
Columbia College
Columbia, MO
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
458 General Business Degrees Awarded
$57,411 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Columbia College Missouri is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #634 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Columbia College Missouri is a great college overall.

There were approximately 458 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Columbia College Missouri in the most recent year we have data available. General Business/Commerce degree recipients from Columbia College earn a boost of approximately $5,750 above the average income of general business/commerce graduates.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Columbia College

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
237 General Business Degrees Awarded
$61,170 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Kansas City, UMKC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 14th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were about 237 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at UMKC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general business/commerce degree program at University of Missouri - Kansas City earn $9,510 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Missouri - Kansas City

7
Lindenwood University crest
Lindenwood University
Saint Charles, MO
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
228 General Business Degrees Awarded
$56,784 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Saint Charles, Lindenwood University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #654 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Lindenwood University is a great university overall.

There were about 228 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Lindenwood University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general business/commerce degree program at Lindenwood University earn $5,124 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Lindenwood University

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
56 General Business Degrees Awarded
$37,383 Median Starting Salary

Southeast Tech is a small public college located in the city of Sioux Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #482 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Southeast Tech is a great college overall.

There were approximately 56 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Southeast Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, general business degree recipients generally earn about $37,383 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Southeast Technical College

9
Wartburg crest
Wartburg College
Waverly, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 General Business Degrees Awarded
21.1% Growth in Graduates

Wartburg is a small private not-for-profit college located in the distant town of Waverly. This college ranks 15th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 76 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Wartburg in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general business/commerce degree program at Wartburg College make $2,992 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Wartburg College

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In MN
37.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Rochester, Rochester Community and Technical College is a public college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #587 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Rochester Community and Technical College is a great college overall.

There were roughly 24 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Rochester Community and Technical College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Rochester Community and Technical College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for General Business/Commerce students in the Plains States Region that almost earned our Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Plains States Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Minnesota State Community and Technical College Fergus Falls, MN
12 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
13 Gustavus Adolphus College Saint Peter, MN
14 Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO
15 North Hennepin Community College Brooklyn Park, MN

Best General Business/Commerce Colleges by State

Explore the best general business/commerce schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 468
Missouri 283 3,160
Kansas 266 360
Iowa 264 271
Nebraska 238 359
North Dakota 210 24
South Dakota 204 99

View All Rankings >

General Business/Commerce is one of 21 different types of Business, Management & Marketing programs to choose from.

General Business Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Business/Commerce 4,631

View All General Business Concentrations >

Majors Similar to General Business

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 25,016
Accounting 6,709
Finance & Financial Management 4,843
Marketing 4,221
Human Resource Management 2,763
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 2,114
Business Support & Assistant Services 1,022
Hospitality Management 691
Entrepreneurial Studies 690
Construction Management 622

View All General Business Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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