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2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

11 Ranked Colleges
465 Degrees Awarded
$17,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 57,618 people earned their degree in social work, making the major the 12th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, social work graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,459 and had an average of $30,084 in loans still to pay off.

Across Iowa, there were 465 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,950 and $28,476 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in social work. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great social work programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the social work 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

The social work school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Social Work (Income $0-$30k) in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 103 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

UNI also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend UNI is $10,757 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Social Work at UNI

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Social Work 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 164 ’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $12,975 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 more about Social Work at Iowa

#3

Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loras College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Dubuque, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social work degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

Loras also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $16,154 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Loras College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Work at Loras

#4

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Buena Vista University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. BVU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Storm Lake, Iowa. It awarded 7 ’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa social work students whose families make $0-$30k list, BVU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend BVU is $14,210 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Social Work at BVU

#5

Wartburg College

Waverly, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wartburg College. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Waverly, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s social work degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa social work students whose families make $0-$30k list, Wartburg has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Wartburg College is $16,334 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Social Work at Wartburg

#6

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, Iowa

Briar Cliff University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Briar Cliff is located in Sioux City, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 42 ’s social work degrees to qualified students.

Briar Cliff also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $20,372 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Briar Cliff University.

Read full report on Social Work at Briar Cliff University

#7

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Mount Mercy University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it awarded 11 ’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

Mount Mercy also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend Mount Mercy University is $13,992 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Social Work at Mount Mercy

#8

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

Grand View University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 15 degrees to qualified ’s social work students in 2019-2020.

Grand View University also made our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend Grand View University is $18,481 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Social Work at Grand View University

#9

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

With a ranking of #9, Luther College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Luther College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Decorah, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Luther, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Luther College is $16,636 for iowa social work students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Social Work at Luther College

#10

Dordt University

Sioux Center, Iowa

Dordt University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Dordt University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Sioux Center, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 14 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Dordt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $24,967 for iowa social work students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Dordt.

The low student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.

Full Dordt Social Work Report

#11

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

Saint Ambrose University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in Iowa For Those Making $0-$30k list. Saint Ambrose University is a small school located in Davenport, Iowa that handed out 20 ’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at St. Ambrose University, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Social Work Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for St. Ambrose University is $23,977 for Iowa Social Work students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Social Work at Saint Ambrose University

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.

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