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2025 Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region

27 Colleges in the Plains States Region
11,499 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$76,684 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #7 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 27 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 11,499 degrees in engineering to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Engineering School

Best Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region Your choice of engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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

Engineering Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Engineering
Bachelor's Degrees in Engineering
Master's Degrees in Engineering
Doctor's Degrees in Engineering

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 Engineering Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Engineering in the Plains States Region

The schools below may not offer all types of engineering 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 Engineering

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
601 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$81,853 Median Starting Salary

Washington University in St Louis is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in engineering. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were roughly 601 engineering students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available. Engineering degree recipients from Washington University in St Louis earn a boost of approximately $5,168 over the typical earnings of engineering graduates.

More information about a degree in engineering from Washington University in St Louis

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,866 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$77,313 Median Starting Salary

Iowa State University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in engineering. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a fairly 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 1866.0000000000002 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, engineering degree recipients usually earn an average of $77,313 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in engineering from Iowa State University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,156 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$74,170 Median Starting Salary

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a good option for students pursuing a degree in engineering. Located in the 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 roughly 1156 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 engineering program make an average of $74,170 in the first couple years of their career.

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,352 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$76,078 Median Starting Salary

Missouri University of Science and Technology is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in engineering. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Rolla. A Best Colleges rank of #259 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Missouri University of Science and Technology is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1352 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, engineering degree recipients usually make around $76,078 in the first five years of their career.

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

5
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
506 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$69,315 Median Starting Salary

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

There were roughly 506 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the engineering program earn about $69,315 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Iowa

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
512 Engineering Degrees Awarded
0.2% Growth in Graduates

Mizzou is a very large public university located in the 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 512 engineering students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the engineering program make about $72,160 in the first couple years of their career.

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

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
452 Engineering Degrees Awarded
0.4% Growth in Graduates

North Dakota State University is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Fargo. This university ranks 4th out of 12 schools for overall quality in the state of North Dakota.

There were approximately 452 engineering students who graduated with this degree at North Dakota State University in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, engineering degree recipients typically earn an average of $72,803 in the first five years of their career.

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
701 Engineering Degrees Awarded
4.4% Growth in Graduates

UNL is a very large public university located in the 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 701 engineering students who graduated with this degree at UNL in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the engineering program report average early career income of $75,382.

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

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
544 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$73,832 Median Starting Salary

K -State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Manhattan. A Best Colleges rank of #269 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means K -State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 544 engineering students who graduated with this degree at K -State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the engineering program earn about $73,832 for their early career.

More information about a degree in engineering from Kansas State University

10
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
451 Engineering Degrees Awarded
$64,896 Median Starting Salary

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

There were about 451 engineering students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, engineering degree recipients typically earn around $64,896 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in engineering from University of Kansas

Best Engineering Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Kansas 38 1,559
Minnesota 38 2,318
Iowa 38 2,595
South Dakota 38 546
Missouri 38 3,001
Nebraska 36 698
North Dakota 35 785

View All Rankings >

Engineering Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 2,877
Civil Engineering 1,355
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

View All Engineering Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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