2022 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 9,704 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,163 and had an average of $28,712 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 83 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $26,870 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in religious studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great religious studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the religious studies 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 Religious Studies Schools

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 Value Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college 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. 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 Value Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$10,054 Average Net Price

$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k. Iowa State University is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 6 ’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $10,054 for Iowa Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Full Iowa State Religious Studies Report

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$12,975 Average Net Price

$44,594 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 13 ’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $12,975 for iowa religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at University of Iowa

#3

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$16,636 Average Net Price

$34,644 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Luther College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Religion Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Decorah, Iowa. It awarded 7 ’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

Luther also took the #3 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $16,636 for iowa religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Luther College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Luther College Religious Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k)

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 Sowlos.

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