by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard. You may be surprised that some normally high-priced schools offer very generous financial aid packages to those who qualify.
In This Year's Value Report:
Our analysis looked at 391 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones have the best value programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $0-$30k a year. The net price is the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that that the student receives. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
We go into more detail on these factors on our best value ranking methodology page.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named University of Chicago the best value (income $0-$30k) school in the Great Lakes Region . Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is University of Chicago a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Illinois for overall quality. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $2,993.
Out of the 391 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #2 spot on the list. Ann Arbor, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor has the honor of being ranked #1 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $4,692.
The quality degree programs at Michigan State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region. Michigan State is located in East Lansing, Michigan and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Michigan State University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Michigan for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $129.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list means University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great place for students working on their degree. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin.
University of Wisconsin - Madison has the honor of being ranked #1 in Wisconsin for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $3,753.
Out of the 391 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, landed the #5 spot on the list.
Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Purdue University - Main Campus has the honor of being ranked #2 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $3,709.
Northwestern University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois.
Northwestern University has the honor of being ranked #2 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $8,911.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois.
Not only is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Illinois for overall quality. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $5,651.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Value Report
Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Indiana University - Bloomington is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Indiana. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $5,625.
University of Notre Dame ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Not only is University of Notre Dame a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Indiana for overall quality. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $10,918.
With a ranking of #11, Eastern Gateway Community College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Eastern Gateway Community College is a public institution located in Steubenville, Ohio.
Not only is Eastern Gateway Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #15 in Ohio for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $1,679.
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in Columbus, Ohio.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Ohio State University - Main Campus is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Ohio. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $7,759.
Elgin Community College landed the #13 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Elgin Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Elgin, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Elgin Community College is ranked #29 for quality in the state of Illinois. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $1,633.
Michigan Technological University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Houghton, Michigan.
Not only is Michigan Technological University a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Michigan for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $7,006.
With a ranking of #15, Washtenaw Community College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Washtenaw Community College is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Washtenaw Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #26 in Michigan for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $1,242.
Fox College did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #16. Fox College is a small private for-profit school located in Tinley Park, Illinois.
Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $8,681.
College of Lake County came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. College of Lake County is a public institution located in Grayslake, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, College of Lake County is ranked #12 for quality in the state of Illinois. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $5,118.
With a ranking of #18, College of DuPage did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. College of DuPage is a large public school located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, College of DuPage is ranked #31 for quality in the state of Illinois. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $2,711.
With a ranking of #19, Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. IUPUI is a public institution located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis has the honor of being ranked #7 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $5,579.
Full Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Value Report
Macomb Community College did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #20. Macomb Community College is located in Warren, Michigan and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Macomb Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in Michigan for overall quality. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $4,657.
With a ranking of #21, Moraine Valley Community College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region list. MVCC is a fairly large public school situated in Palos Hills, Illinois.
Moraine Valley Community College has the honor of being ranked #48 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $1,561.
Delta College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Delta College is a medium-sized public school situated in University Center, Michigan.
Delta College has the honor of being ranked #35 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $840.
Sinclair Community College did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #23. Sinclair Community College is a public institution located in Dayton, Ohio.
Not only is Sinclair Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #29 in Ohio for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $2,973.
Joliet Junior College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Joliet, Illinois.
Joliet Junior College has the honor of being ranked #53 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $0-$30k per year is $1,766.
Ball State University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ball State is a public institution located in Muncie, Indiana.
Not only is Ball State University a great value, but it is also ranked #6 in Indiana for overall quality. Students from families who make $0-$30k a year pay an annual average net price of $7,702.
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
View Best Value
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Indiana University - Northwest | Gary, IN | Value Report |
| 52 | Gateway Technical College | Kenosha, WI | Value Report |
| 53 | Prairie State College | Chicago Heights, IL | Value Report |
| 54 | Lansing Community College | Lansing, MI | Value Report |
| 55 | South Suburban College | South Holland, IL | Value Report |
| 56 | City Colleges of Chicago - Malcolm X College | Chicago, IL | Value Report |
| 57 | Western Technical College | La Crosse, WI | Value Report |
| 58 | Ferris State University | Big Rapids, MI | Value Report |
| 59 | Kent State University at Stark | North Canton, OH | Value Report |
All Majors and Fields of Study >
These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | Lorain County Community College | Elyria, OH | Value Report |
| 61 | University of Wisconsin - River Falls | River Falls, WI | Value Report |
| 62 | Vincennes University | Vincennes, IN | Value Report |
| 63 | University of Michigan - Dearborn | Dearborn, MI | Value Report |
| 64 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI | Value Report |
| 65 | Mott Community College | Flint, MI | Value Report |
| 66 | Shawnee Community College | Ullin, IL | Value Report |
| 67 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN | Value Report |
| 68 | Clark State Community College | Springfield, OH | Value Report |
| 69 | Denison University | Granville, OH | Value Report |
| 69 | Midwestern Career College | Chicago, IL | Value Report |
| 71 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater, WI | Value Report |
| 72 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI | Value Report |
| 73 | Lake Land College | Mattoon, IL | Value Report |
| 74 | Chippewa Valley Technical College | Eau Claire, WI | Value Report |
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | Fox Valley Technical College | Appleton, WI | Value Report |
| 76 | McHenry County College | Crystal Lake, IL | Value Report |
| 77 | Indiana University - South Bend | South Bend, IN | Value Report |
| 78 | Northcentral Technical College | Wausau, WI | Value Report |
| 79 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville, IL | Value Report |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.