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2025 Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

18 Colleges in the Plains States Region
1,355 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$71,769 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in civil engineering is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #50 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 18 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for civil engineering students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,355 degrees in civil engineering to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Civil Engineering School

Best Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region Your choice of civil engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for civil engineering schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Civil Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Civil Eng
Master's Degrees in Civil Eng
Doctor's Degrees in Civil Eng

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 Civil Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college 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 Civil Engineering in the Plains States Region

The schools below may not offer all types of civil eng 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 Civil Eng

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
166 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$73,351 Median Starting Salary

Iowa State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in civil engineering. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #88 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 166 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the civil eng program earn an average of $73,351 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
179 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
6.1% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in civil engineering needs to look into Missouri University of Science and Technology. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Rolla. This university ranks 5th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were about 179 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, civil eng degree recipients generally make around $70,878 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
77 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$65,835 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in civil engineering needs to check out University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were about 77 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the civil eng program make about $65,835 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
84 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
10.7% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in civil engineering has to check out North Dakota State University - Main Campus. North Dakota State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Fargo. This university ranks 4th out of 12 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Dakota.

There were roughly 84 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at North Dakota State University in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the civil eng program make an average of $72,729 for their early career.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University - Main Campus

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
20.7% Growth in Graduates

Mizzou is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Columbia. A Best Colleges rank of #131 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Mizzou is a great university overall.

There were about 92 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the civil eng program make about $69,566 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Missouri - Columbia

6
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$70,313 Median Starting Salary

Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the city of Iowa City. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.

There were approximately 58 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year. After graduation, civil eng degree recipients generally make around $70,313 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Iowa

7
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
9.2% Growth in Graduates

KU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Lawrence. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means KU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 87 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career earnings of $68,486.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Kansas

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
129 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$70,542 Median Starting Salary

UNL is a very large public university located in the large city of Lincoln. A Best Colleges rank of #207 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNL is a great university overall.

There were about 129 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UNL in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career income of $70,542.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Nebraska - Lincoln

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$69,300 Median Starting Salary

K -State is a large public university located in the city of Manhattan. This university ranks 2nd out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of Kansas.

There were approximately 61 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at K -State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, civil eng degree recipients usually make about $69,300 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
11.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Grand Forks, UND is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 12 schools for overall quality in the state of North Dakota.

There were roughly 53 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career wages of $73,260.

More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of North Dakota

Best Civil Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best civil engineering schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 201
Missouri 283 311
Kansas 266 150
Iowa 264 263
Nebraska 238 130
North Dakota 210 123
South Dakota 204 110

View All Rankings >

One of 41 majors within the Engineering area of study, Civil Engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Civil Eng Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Civil Engineering 1,339
Geoenvironmental Engineering 13
Structural Engineering 1
Trasportation Engineering 1
Water Resources Engineering 1

View All Civil Eng Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 2,877
Electrical Engineering 1,111
Computer Engineering 1,012
Chemical Engineering 799
Industrial Engineering 637
Biomedical Engineering 627
General Engineering 566
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 562
Agricultural Engineering 261
Other Engineering 181

View All Civil Eng Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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