2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration (Income $75-$110k) in Iowa

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking.

Public Administration is the 58th most popular major in the country with 17,269 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,859 and had an average of $42,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 164 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,729 and $50,781 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in public administration. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public administration programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public administration program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k” 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa public admin students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration (Income $75-$110k) in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$17,467 Average Net Price

$39,900 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Northern Iowa is a medium-sized public school situated in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It awarded 11 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Northern Iowa is $17,467 for Iowa Public Admin students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Northern Iowa Public Administration Report

#2

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$18,120 Average Net Price

$38,082 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Buena Vista University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k. Buena Vista University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Storm Lake, Iowa. It awarded 1 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

BVU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Buena Vista University is $18,120 for Iowa Public Admin students whose families make $75-$110k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full Buena Vista University Public Administration Report

#3

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$24,690 Average Net Price

$41,815 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Upper Iowa University landed the #3 spot on the list. Upper Iowa University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Fayette, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 47 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Upper Iowa University is $24,690 for iowa public admin students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read more about Public Administration at Upper Iowa University

#4

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$30,031 Average Net Price

$47,824 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Iowa For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Drake University landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Des Moines, Iowa, and it awarded 36 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

Drake not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Drake University is $30,031 for Iowa Public Admin students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Public Administration at Drake

• Best Value Colleges for Public Administration (Income $75-$110k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Colleges for Public Administration (Income $75-$110k)

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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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