by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which school to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking is part of that endeavor.
In This Year's Value Report:
After analyzing 162 schools in the Great Lakes Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the best value Master's Degree programs. Our ranking for the best value schools is based on objective factors. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
The first step of determing the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking is to look at the school's average net price for students with families that make over $110k a year. The net price is the sum of tuition, fees, and room and board minus any financial aid awarded to the student. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a good 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:
Purdue University - Main Campus tops this year’s ranking as the best value (income over $110k) school for master’s degrees in the Great Lakes Region for overall quality. Purdue is a large public school situated in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Not only is Purdue University - Main Campus a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Indiana for overall quality.
Out of the 162 master’s degree schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the #2 spot on the list. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. 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.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Michigan.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public school situated in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Not only is University of Wisconsin - La Crosse a great value, but it is also ranked #4 in Wisconsin for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
Out of the 162 master’s degree schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #5 spot on the list. Indiana University - Bloomington is a large public school located in Bloomington, Indiana.
Indiana University - Bloomington has the honor of being ranked #3 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Ball State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #6. Ball State is located in Muncie, Indiana and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Ball State University has the honor of being ranked #5 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is University of Wisconsin - Madison a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Wisconsin for overall quality.
Concordia University, Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. River Forest, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Concordia University, Chicago a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Illinois for overall quality.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis ranked #9 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, the school is a large public institution.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis has the honor of being ranked #7 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
University of Wisconsin - Platteville landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Wisconsin - Platteville is a medium-sized public school located in Platteville, Wisconsin.
Not only is University of Wisconsin - Platteville a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Wisconsin for overall quality.
Indiana University - Kokomo ranked #11 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Kokomo, Indiana, the school is a small public institution.
Indiana University - Kokomo has the honor of being ranked #31 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #12 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. This large public school is 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.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Value Report
Indiana University - Southeast did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #13. Indiana University - Southeast is a small public school situated in New Albany, Indiana.
Not only is Indiana University - Southeast a great value, but it is also ranked #23 in Indiana for overall quality.
Michigan Technological University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Houghton, Michigan, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
Not only is Michigan Technological University a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Michigan for overall quality.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater landed the #15 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is ranked #11 for quality in the state of Wisconsin.
Read full value report on University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
With a ranking of #16, Central Michigan University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, the school is a fairly large public institution.
Central Michigan University has the honor of being ranked #7 in Michigan for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Michigan - Dearborn landed the #17 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Dearborn, Michigan.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Michigan - Dearborn is ranked #8 for quality in the state of Michigan.
Indiana University - Northwest came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. IU Northwest is a small public school situated in Gary, Indiana.
Indiana University - Northwest has the honor of being ranked #26 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is a fairly large public school located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is ranked #7 for quality in the state of Wisconsin.
Learn More About Value at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
University of Wisconsin - River Falls ranked #20 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school situated in River Falls, Wisconsin.
University of Wisconsin - River Falls has the honor of being ranked #16 in Wisconsin for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on University of Wisconsin - River Falls
University of Southern Indiana ranked #21 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Evansville, Indiana, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
University of Southern Indiana has the honor of being ranked #11 in Indiana for overall quality on top of being a good value.
National Louis University landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, National Louis University is ranked #13 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Governors State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #23. Governors State University is a small public school located in University Park, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Governors State University is ranked #34 for quality in the state of Illinois.
With a ranking of #24, Aurora University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region list. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Aurora, Illinois.
Aurora University has the honor of being ranked #8 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
University of Illinois at Chicago has the honor of being ranked #12 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
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These schools also performed well in our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Indiana University - South Bend | South Bend, IN | Value Report |
| 27 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH | Value Report |
| 28 | Indiana University - East | Richmond, IN | Value Report |
| 29 | Wayne State University | Detroit, MI | Value Report |
| 30 | Saginaw Valley State University | University Center, MI | Value Report |
| 31 | Purdue University Northwest | Hammond, IN | Value Report |
| 32 | Ohio University - Athens Campus | Athens, OH | Value Report |
| 33 | University of Wisconsin - Stout | Menomonie, WI | Value Report |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.