2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Sociology (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

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 Sociology Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Sociology is the 24th most popular major in the country with 37,807 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, sociology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,727 and had an average of $23,622 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 1,307 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,378 and $24,379 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 1 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,069 and $19,434 respectively.

This ranking identifies schools with high-quality sociology 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 sociology program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Sociology Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Sociology Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Sociology Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Sociology Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 1 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Sociology (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

#1

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota

#1 in overall quality

$15,285 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South Dakota State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Brookings, South Dakota, and it awarded 1 associates’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

South Dakota State also made our “Best Sociology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for South Dakota State is $15,285 for plains states region associate degree sociology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.8% 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 Sociology at South Dakota State

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Sociology (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 Kontos.

Featured Political and Social Sciences Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >