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. College Factual has developed its Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision. 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:
After analyzing 116 schools in the Plains States Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the best value Master's Degree 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 Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $48-$75k 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:
Washington University in St Louis tops this year’s ranking as the best value (income $48-$75k) school for master’s degrees in the Plains States Region for overall quality. Saint Louis, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Washington University in St Louis is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Missouri.
The quality degree programs at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities has the honor of being ranked #1 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Out of the 116 master’s degree schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Iowa State University is a large public school located in Ames, Iowa.
Not only is Iowa State University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Iowa for overall quality.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Missouri University of Science and Technology. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. Rolla, Missouri is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Missouri University of Science and Technology is ranked #4 for quality in the state of Missouri.
Learn More About Value at Missouri University of Science and Technology
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Missouri - St Louis. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. UMSL is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Missouri - St Louis is ranked #9 for quality in the state of Missouri.
University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Mizzou is located in Columbia, Missouri and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Missouri - Columbia is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Missouri.
University of Nebraska - Lincoln did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #7. University of Nebraska - Lincoln is a large public school located in Lincoln, Nebraska.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Nebraska - Lincoln is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Nebraska.
Valley City State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Valley City, North Dakota, the school is a small public institution.
Not only is Valley City State University a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in North Dakota for overall quality.
With a ranking of #9, Capella University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. Capella University is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has a large student population. It is a private for-profit school.
Capella University has the honor of being ranked #4 in Minnesota for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Truman State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #10. Truman State is a public institution located in Kirksville, Missouri.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Truman State University is ranked #10 for quality in the state of Missouri.
Minot State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Minot State University is a small public school located in Minot, North Dakota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Minot State University is ranked #4 for quality in the state of North Dakota.
University of Northern Iowa did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #12. UNI is a public institution located in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Northern Iowa is ranked #4 for quality in the state of Iowa.
University of Missouri - Kansas City came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Kansas City, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is University of Missouri - Kansas City a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in Missouri for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at University of Missouri - Kansas City
University of Minnesota - Duluth landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking. UMN Duluth is located in Duluth, Minnesota and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Minnesota - Duluth is ranked #14 for quality in the state of Minnesota.
University of Mary ranked #15 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. UMary is a private not-for-profit institution located in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Not only is University of Mary a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in North Dakota for overall quality.
College of Saint Mary did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #16. Saint Mary is a private not-for-profit institution located in Omaha, Nebraska.
Not only is College of Saint Mary a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Nebraska for overall quality.
Kansas State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #17. Manhattan, Kansas 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, Kansas State University is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Kansas.
University of Iowa landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, the school is a large public institution.
University of Iowa has the honor of being ranked #1 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #19, University of North Dakota did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. University of North Dakota is a fairly large public school located in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of North Dakota is ranked #2 for quality in the state of North Dakota.
With a ranking of #20, University of Nebraska at Omaha did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. This fairly large public school is located in Omaha, Nebraska.
University of Nebraska at Omaha has the honor of being ranked #6 in Nebraska for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #21, Northwest Missouri State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. Northwest is a medium-sized public school situated in Maryville, Missouri.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northwest Missouri State University is ranked #14 for quality in the state of Missouri.
Learn More About Value at Northwest Missouri State University
Saint Cloud State University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking. St. Cloud State University is a public institution located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Saint Cloud State University is ranked #13 for quality in the state of Minnesota.
University of Kansas did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #23. University of Kansas is a large public school located in Lawrence, Kansas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Kansas is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Kansas.
With a ranking of #24, Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. Minnesota State University - Mankato is a fairly large public school located in Mankato, Minnesota.
Not only is Minnesota State University - Mankato a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Minnesota for overall quality.
Bellevue University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region list. Bellevue University is located in Bellevue, Nebraska and has a fairly large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Bellevue University is ranked #4 for quality in the state of Nebraska.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.