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2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

490 Ranked Colleges
32,920 Degrees Awarded
$5,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

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 Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

Early Childhood Education is the 34th most popular major in the country with 32,920 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

This year’s “Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 490 colleges that offered a degree in early childhood education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality early childhood education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the early childhood education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Early Childhood Education Schools

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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 Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. 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 Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 25 Best Value Colleges for Early Childhood Education (Income $30-$48k)

1
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, New York

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Hunter College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k. Hunter College is a large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 86 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on this list, Hunter is in the top on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Hunter is $2,135 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Hunter

2
IU Bloomington crest
Indiana University - Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana

Out of the 490 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #2 spot on the list. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s child development degrees to 11 students in 2020-2021.

IU Bloomington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. It costs about $7,061 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Indiana University - Bloomington.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Indiana University - Bloomington Early Childhood Education Report

3
Brooklyn College crest
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, New York

Out of the 490 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Brooklyn College landed the #3 spot on the list. Brooklyn College is a fairly large school located in Brooklyn, New York that handed out 146 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

Brooklyn College excels when it comes to child development quality. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The estimated yearly cost for Brooklyn College is $3,105 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Brooklyn College

4
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University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Florida is a large school located in Gainesville, Florida that handed out 16 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

UF excels when it comes to child development quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Florida is $2,857 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 full report on Early Childhood Education at University of Florida

5
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Purdue University - Main Campus
West Lafayette, Indiana

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. Purdue is a public institution located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Purdue did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #22 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Purdue is $5,853 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Purdue University - Main Campus Early Childhood Education Report

6

University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 116 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UW Seattle also took the #4 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” ranking. It costs about $6,399 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UW Seattle.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at UW Seattle

7

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 16 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $8,036 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at UIUC

8

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. UNC Chapel Hill is a large public school situated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It awarded 115 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

UNC Chapel Hill did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #23 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend UNC Chapel Hill is $5,729 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UNC Chapel Hill Early Childhood Education Report

9

With a ranking of #9, University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of South Florida - Main Campus is a large public school situated in Tampa, Florida. It awarded 16 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, USF Tampa is also in the top of our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” ranking. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for USF Tampa is $5,632 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The low undergrad 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%.

Full USF Tampa Early Childhood Education Report

10
QC crest
Queens College
Queens, New York

With a ranking of #10, Queens College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. QC is located in Queens, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 50 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on this list, QC is in the top on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. It costs about $3,524 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend QC.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full QC Early Childhood Education Report

11

California State University - Los Angeles came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 384 degrees to qualified ’s child development students in 2020-2021.

The yearly cost to attend Cal State LA is $2,701 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - Los Angeles

12
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Central New Mexico Community College
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Central New Mexico Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. CNM is a fairly large school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that handed out 58 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, CNM is also in the top of our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” ranking. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. It costs about $3,059 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Central New Mexico Community College.

Full Central New Mexico Community College Early Childhood Education Report

13
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The City College of New York
New York, New York

The City College of New York came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. CCNY is a fairly large school located in New York, New York that handed out 69 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

It costs about $3,035 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend The City College of New York.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at CCNY

14
South Texas College crest
South Texas College
McAllen, Texas

South Texas College landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in McAllen, Texas, this large public school awarded 270 diplomas to qualified ’s child development students in 2020-2021.

The yearly cost to attend South Texas College is $1,783 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at South Texas College

15
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Lehman College
Bronx, New York

Lehman College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. Lehman College is a fairly large school located in Bronx, New York that handed out 43 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

The estimated yearly cost for Lehman College is $3,381 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Lehman College Early Childhood Education Report

16

University of Central Florida did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #16. Orlando, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s child development degrees to 103 students in 2020-2021.

UCF also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list, coming in at #14. The estimated yearly cost for University of Central Florida is $6,256 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.

Full UCF Early Childhood Education Report

17

With a ranking of #17, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 33 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.

UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is $8,609 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

18

Brigham Young University - Idaho landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Brigham Young University - Idaho is located in Rexburg, Idaho and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 37 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.

It costs about $3,357 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Brigham Young University - Idaho.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full BYU - I Early Childhood Education Report

19

Florida International University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. FIU is located in Miami, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 240 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, FIU is also in the top of our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The yearly cost to attend FIU is $4,882 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at FIU

20

Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. ASU - Tempe is a public institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 66 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

ASU - Tempe not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. It costs about $10,628 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend ASU - Tempe.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Arizona State University - Tempe

21

California State University - Fullerton came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. California State University - Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 511 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal State Fullerton is also in the top of our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” ranking. It’s in the top [COLLEGE_QUALITY_PECTENTILE_ALL_LEVES]% of all schools in this category. It costs about $5,821 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Fullerton.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - Fullerton

22
UNF crest
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, Florida

University of North Florida did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #22. UNF is a fairly large public school situated in Jacksonville, Florida. It awarded 35 ’s child development degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on this list, UNF is in the top on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. The yearly cost to attend UNF is $6,074 for child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.

Full University of North Florida Early Childhood Education Report

23
UGA crest
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

University of Georgia did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #23. Athens, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s child development degrees to 170 students in 2020-2021.

UGA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend UGA is $10,688 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Georgia Early Childhood Education Report

24
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El Centro College
Dallas, Texas

El Centro College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Dallas, Texas, this large public school awarded 252 degrees to qualified ’s child development students in 2020-2021.

The yearly cost to attend El Centro College is $4,619 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at El Centro College

25

California State University - Bakersfield ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. CSUB is located in Bakersfield, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 142 ’s child development degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Bakersfield is $6,046 for Child development students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at CSUB

Rest of the Best 50 in Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

26
27
CWU crest
Central Washington University
Ellensburg, Washington
28
29
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Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, Utah
30
Urban College of Boston crest
Urban College of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
31
32
33
34
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Indian River State College
Fort Pierce, Florida
35
36
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Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, Indiana
37
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Palm Beach State College
Lake Worth, Florida
38
39
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University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
40
41
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Central Georgia Technical College
Warner Robins, Georgia
42
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Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
43
Atlanta Area Tech crest
Atlanta Technical College
Atlanta, Georgia
44
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University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware
45
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University of Missouri - St Louis
Saint Louis, Missouri
46
Albany Technical College crest
Albany Technical College
Albany, Georgia
47
48
49
50
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Western Washington University
Bellingham, Washington

Rest of the Top 15% Colleges in Best Value Child development Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

Rank College Location
51 Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC
52 St Petersburg College Clearwater, FL
53 Georgia Northwestern Technical College Rome, GA
54 Pima Community College Tucson, AZ
55 Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville, NC
56 West Georgia Technical College Waco, GA
57 Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Salisbury, NC
58 Northeast Community College Norfolk, NE
59 Utah Valley University Orem, UT
60 Holmes Community College Goodman, MS
61 Towson University Towson, MD
62 University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK
63 Minot State University Minot, ND
64 Vance-Granville Community College Henderson, NC
65 University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI
Rank College Location
66 Palo Alto College San Antonio, TX
67 Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL
68 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
69 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI
70 Miami Dade College Miami, FL
71 The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ
72 California State University - Stanislaus Turlock, CA
73 Stanly Community College Albemarle, NC
74 Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA

Notes and References

References

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