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2025 Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

22 Colleges in the Plains States Region
2,346 Bachelor's Degrees
$71,264 Avg Early-Career Salary
Mechanical Engineering is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #17 most popular major 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 22 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for mechanical engineering students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,346 bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Mechanical Engineering School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region Your choice of mechanical engineering for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for mechanical engineering students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

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More ME Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Mechanical Engineering in the Plains States Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for mechanical engineering students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Bachelor's in ME

1
187 Annual Graduates
$73,433 Median Starting Salary
$25,361 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering needs to take a look at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis.

Bachelor's recipients from the mechanical engineering major at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities make $2,169 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2
203 Annual Graduates
$75,855 Median Starting Salary
$26,500 Median Student Debt

Missouri University of Science and Technology is a great choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Located in the town of Rolla, Missouri University of Science and Technology is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Those mechanical engineering students who get their bachelor's degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology make $4,591 more than the average me graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology

3

Washington University in St Louis is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the me program make around $72,057 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Washington University in St Louis

4
356 Annual Graduates
$72,900 Median Starting Salary
$32,948 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering has to look into Iowa State University. Iowa State is a very large public university located in the city of Ames.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the me program report average early career wages of $72,900.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University

5
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
101 Annual Graduates
$71,732 Median Starting Salary
$33,748 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the me program report average early career earnings of $71,732.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Iowa

6
125 Annual Graduates
$71,800 Median Starting Salary
$31,356 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, me bachelor's recipients usually earn about $71,800 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Missouri - Columbia

7

Located in the medium-sized city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, me bachelor's recipients typically earn about $72,158 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from North Dakota State University - Main Campus

8
137 Annual Graduates
$71,318 Median Starting Salary
$17,663 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Lincoln, UNL is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, me bachelor's recipients usually make around $71,318 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Nebraska - Lincoln

9
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
101 Annual Graduates
$70,726 Median Starting Salary
$41,494 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, me bachelor's recipients typically earn around $70,726 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from University of Kansas

10
140 Annual Graduates
$72,627 Median Starting Salary
$21,327 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Manhattan, K -State is a public university with a large student population.

Soon after graduation, me bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $72,627 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University

Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges by State

Explore the best mechanical engineering colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Missouri 228 583
Minnesota 215 477
Iowa 197 595
Kansas 184 414
Nebraska 180 132
North Dakota 149 275
South Dakota 148 133

View All Rankings >

Mechanical Engineering is one of 41 different types of Engineering programs to choose from.

ME Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Mechanical Engineering 2,346

Majors Similar to ME

Related Major Annual Graduates
Civil Engineering 972
Electrical Engineering 725
Computer Engineering 720
Chemical Engineering 685
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 409
Industrial Engineering 379
Biomedical Engineering 378
Agricultural Engineering 160
General Engineering 148
Architectural Engineering 124

Notes and References

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