2023 Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 618 people earned their degree in applied economics, making the major the 534th most popular in the United States.

Across the Plains States region, there were 105 applied economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in applied economics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent applied economics programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the applied economics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota

#1 in overall quality

$12,911 Average Net Price

$50,445 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 73 ’s applied economics degrees to qualified students.

UMN Twin Cities not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $12,911 for plains states region applied economics students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Applied Economics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2

University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,287 Average Net Price

$40,810 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this medium-sized public school handed out 22 degrees to qualified ’s applied economics students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our plains states region applied economics students whose families make $48-$75k list, UNI has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UNI is $15,287 for Plains States Region Applied Economics students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 more about Applied Economics at UNI

3

St Catherine University
Saint Paul, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$15,942 Average Net Price

$53,926 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Catherine University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. St. Kate’s is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It awarded 4 ’s applied economics degrees in 2020-2021.

St. Kate’s did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend St Catherine University is $15,942 for plains states region applied economics students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 more about Applied Economics at St Catherine University

• Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics (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 pixabay.