2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 607 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,575 and $24,231 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 589 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent mechanical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$10,843 Average Net Price

$65,814 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Ames, Iowa, this large public school handed out 429 degrees to qualified bachelors’s ME students in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $10,843 for iowa bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Iowa State.

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 more about Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,073 Average Net Price

$64,687 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 120 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $30-$48k list, Iowa has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa is $15,073 for iowa bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Iowa

#3

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$22,177 Average Net Price

$61,020 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Dordt University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k. Dordt University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Sioux Center, Iowa. It awarded 12 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Dordt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Dordt is $22,177 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 Dordt Mechanical Engineering Report

#4

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$24,516 Average Net Price

$60,771 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Saint Ambrose University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k. Davenport, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University also took the #4 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for St. Ambrose University is $24,516 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at St. Ambrose University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

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 Michel Villeneuve.

Featured Engineering Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >