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Best Value Education Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Education Schools in Iowa

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

17 Colleges
$30,214 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$40,708 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Education School for You

Education is one of the most popular subjects to study in Iowa. With 1,401 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 3rd out of all the majors we track in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Education Schools in Iowa ranking. This report analyzed 17 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best value programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Education Schools in Iowa

Check out the education programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Education Schools

#1

Waldorf University

Forest City, IA
$23,666 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Waldorf University to be the best value school for education students who want to pursue a degree in Iowa. Waldorf is a small private for-profit school located in the town of Forest City.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Waldorf are $23,666 per year.

Read More…

#2

Northwestern College

Orange City, IA
$33,590 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Iowa list. Located in the town of Orange City, NWC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NWC are $33,590 a year.

NWC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Education Schools in Iowa list.

Read full report on Education at Northwestern College

#3

Simpson College

Indianola, IA
$44,030 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Simpson College is a great value for education students. Located in the fringe town of Indianola, Simpson College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Simpson College are $44,030 a year.

Simpson College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Education Schools in Iowa list.

Read full report on Education at Simpson College

#4

Morningside College

Sioux City, IA
$35,270 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Morningside College is a great value for education students. Located in the city of Sioux City, Morningside is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Morningside are $35,270 a year.

Full Education at Morningside College Report

#5

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, IA
$37,518 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Buena Vista University is a great value for education students. Located in the town of Storm Lake, BVU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

BVU undergraduate students pay an average of $37,518 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Education at Buena Vista University Report

#6

Drake University

Des Moines, IA
$45,912 Average Tuition & Fees

Drake University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Drake are $45,912 a year.

Drake not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Education Schools in Iowa list.

Read full report on Education at Drake University

#7

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA
$9,053 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Northern Iowa did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNI are $9,053 a year.

Full Education at University of Northern Iowa Report

#8

Dordt University

Sioux Center, IA
$33,590 Average Tuition & Fees

Dordt University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value education programs. Located in the remote town of Sioux Center, Dordt is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Dordt undergraduate students pay an average of $33,590 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Education at Dordt University

#9

Grand View University

Des Moines, IA
$30,954 Average Tuition & Fees

Grand View University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #9 on the list. Grand View University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Grand View University are $30,954 a year.

Full Education at Grand View University Report

$9,634 Average Tuition & Fees

Iowa State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Iowa list. Iowa State is a very large public school located in the small city of Ames.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa State are $9,634 per year.

Read More…

Best Value Education Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Value Education Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 2,994
Missouri 4,657
Minnesota 6,976
North Dakota 619
Nebraska 2,838
South Dakota 453

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
Special Education 25,158
General Education 21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784
Student Counseling 13,840
Instructional Media Design 8,387
Teaching English or French 4,743
Other Education 2,513
Multilingual Education 1,672
Educational Assessment 1,215
Education Philosophy 421
International Education 257
Teaching Assistants 20

Related Major Annual Graduates
Psychology 42,013
Social Sciences 22,292
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 17 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Horadrim.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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