2025 Best Health & Physical Education Schools in the Plains States Region
70Colleges in the Plains States Region
4,990Phys Ed Degrees Awarded
$34,558Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in health & physical education, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #11 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 70 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Health & Physical Education Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 4,990 degrees in health & physical education to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Health & Physical Education School
The phys ed program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Health & Physical Education rankings. We derive our Best Overall Health & Physical Education School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Pick Your Health & Physical Education Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Health & Physical Education Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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.
Best Schools for Health & Physical Education in the Plains States Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the phys ed degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It is hard to beat University of Iowa if you wish to pursue a degree in health & physical education. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were approximately 569 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the phys ed program state that they receive average early career earnings of $31,998.
It's hard to beat University of Minnesota - Twin Cities if you wish to pursue a degree in health & physical education. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.
There were approximately 108 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, phys ed degree recipients generally earn an average of $36,050 in the first five years of their career.
BS in Business Administration - Sport ManagementProgram Name
Turn your passion for sports into a career with a wide range of employment options with this specialized online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
It's hard to beat Saint Louis University if you wish to pursue a degree in health & physical education. Located in the large city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #243 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SLU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 99 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at SLU in the most recent year we have data available.
Any student pursuing a degree in health & physical education needs to look into Iowa State University. Iowa State is a very large public university located in the city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #88 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.
There were about 222 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the phys ed program make around $36,492 in the first couple years of their career.
Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Mankato. A Best Colleges rank of #412 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Minnesota State Mankato is a great university overall.
There were about 133 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Minnesota State Mankato in the most recent year we have data available. Those health & physical education students who get their degree from Minnesota State University - Mankato make $3,311 more than the standard phys ed graduate.
Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means KU is a great university overall.
There were about 201 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the phys ed program state that they receive average early career income of $33,891.
St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Davenport. This university ranks 11th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were about 75 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at St. Ambrose University in the most recent data year. After graduating, phys ed degree recipients typically earn an average of $26,608 at the beginning of their careers.
Turn your passion for sports into a career and a path to high-level roles in the industry with this online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
Located in the city of Saint Charles, Lindenwood University is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 13th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were about 104 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Lindenwood University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the phys ed program report average early career earnings of $35,314.
UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #270 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.
There were about 81 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the phys ed program earn about $34,735 in their early career salary.
Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Grand View University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 33rd out of 37 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were about 72 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Grand View University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the phys ed program earn an average of $36,495 for their early career.
Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #330 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Winona State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 65 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Winona State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the health & physical education program at Winona State University get $7,184 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Truman State is a small public university located in the remote town of Kirksville. This university ranks 18th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were approximately 78 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Truman State in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the phys ed program make an average of $26,865 in their early career salary.
Loras is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Dubuque. This college ranks 29th out of 37 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were approximately 60 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Loras in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the phys ed program earn about $31,493 in the first couple years of their career.
Augustana Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Sioux Falls. This university ranks 9th out of 13 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Dakota.
There were roughly 36 health & physical education students who graduated with this degree at Augustana Sioux Falls in the most recent data year.
Here are some additional great schools for Health & Physical Education students in the Plains States Region that almost earned our Best Health & Physical Education Schools in the Plains States Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
The phys ed program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Health & Physical Education rankings. We derive our Best Overall Health & Physical Education School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
