2022 Best Value Colleges for Physics (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Physics Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 14,123 people earned their degree in physics, making the major the 67th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $42,475 and had an average of $22,421 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 143 physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Physics Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality physics programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the physics program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Physics 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 Physics Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college 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 Value Physics Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa physics students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Physics (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,729 Average Net Price

$39,900 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physics Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Northern Iowa is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 14 ’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also took the #2 spot in our “Best Physics Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $15,729 for Iowa Physics students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UNI.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UNI Physics Report

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$14,161 Average Net Price

$46,410 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physics Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. Iowa State University is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 32 ’s physics degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Physics Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $14,161 for Iowa Physics students whose families make $48-$75k 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 full report on Physics at Iowa State University

#3

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$19,852 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 Physics Schools in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. Luther is located in Decorah, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 ’s physics degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our iowa physics students whose families make $48-$75k list, Luther has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Physics Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Luther is $19,852 for Iowa Physics students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 Physics Report

• Best Value Colleges for Physics (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for Physics (Income $48-$75k)

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 A. T. Service.

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