2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k

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 Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 10,171 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,708 and $29,897 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 4,358 social work graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 91 colleges that offered 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Social Work (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UW - Madison is a large school located in Madison, Wisconsin that handed out 71 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison is $13,227 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 78 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $13,351 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Out of the 91 schools in the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and it awarded 72 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Eau Claire did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UW - Eau Claire is $14,887 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Read more about Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Ohio State is a large public school situated in Columbus, Ohio. It awarded 154 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
Ohio State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $13,982 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Northwest. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Indiana University - Northwest is a public institution located in Gary, Indiana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - Northwest is $9,473 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Read more about Social Work at Indiana University - Northwest
University of Wisconsin - River Falls ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. This medium-sized school is located in River Falls, Wisconsin, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - River Falls, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,474 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UW - River Falls.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. UW - Stevens Point is a medium-sized public school situated in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It awarded 61 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Stevens Point, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point is $14,165 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Read full report on Social Work at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
University of Wisconsin - Superior landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. UW - Superior is a small school located in Superior, Wisconsin that handed out 38 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k list, UW - Superior has also earned the #22 rank in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UW - Superior is $14,211 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
With a ranking of #9, Oakland University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Oakland University is a public institution located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 95 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Oakland University is $10,387 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. IUPUI is a public institution located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 146 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at IUPUI, the school also landed the #17 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $12,314 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend IUPUI.
Read full report on Social Work at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school awarded 31 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - Green Bay, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW - Green Bay is $14,584 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh is a public institution located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 35 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UW Oshkosh also took the #13 spot in our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,236 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UW Oshkosh.
Indiana University - South Bend landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Indiana University - South Bend is a public institution located in South Bend, Indiana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 37 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - South Bend is $10,585 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Aurora University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Aurora University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Aurora, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 141 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Aurora also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend Aurora University is $15,881 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Saginaw Valley State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #15. University Center, Michigan is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 90 students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Saginaw Valley State University is $14,230 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Read full report on Social Work at Saginaw Valley State University
University of Illinois at Springfield came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Springfield, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social work degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for UIS is $11,857 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Read more about Social Work at University of Illinois at Springfield
Viterbo University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Viterbo University is a small school located in La Crosse, Wisconsin that handed out 20 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
Viterbo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $17,563 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Viterbo University.
The low 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%.
Ferris State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Located in Big Rapids, Michigan, this fairly large public school handed out 67 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social work students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Ferris is $14,101 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 38 bachelors’s social work degrees to qualified students.
The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $13,705 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Indiana University - East came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This small school is located in Richmond, Indiana, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $9,723 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend IU East.
Read full report on Social Work at Indiana University - East
Ball State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #21. This large school is located in Muncie, Indiana, and it awarded 70 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
Ball State also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #24. It costs about $15,185 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Ball State University.
Grand Valley State University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Grand Valley State University is a public institution located in Allendale, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 90 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
GVSU also made our “Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #23. The estimated yearly cost for GVSU is $15,775 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and it awarded 69 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for UW - Whitewater is $14,941 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
Full University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Social Work Report
Ohio State University - Marion Campus came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Ohio State University - Marion Campus is a public institution located in Marion, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Ohio State University - Marion Campus is $12,523 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Social Work students whose families make $48-$75k.
The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 Ohio State University - Marion Campus
University of Southern Indiana came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. University of Southern Indiana is a fairly large public school situated in Evansville, Indiana. It awarded 59 bachelors’s social work degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend University of Southern Indiana is $14,686 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree social work students whose families make $48-$75k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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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 Army Medicine.
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