2026 Best Value Chemical Engineering Associate’s Degree Schools
Looking for the best-value Chemical Engineering associate’s degree programs in the United States? This list ranks 214 institutions by value — the balance of cost and student outcomes, using our 2026 methodology. The rankings below weigh factors such as tuition, student debt, and post-graduation earnings to surface the strongest return on investment.
To arm you with the information you need, Course Advisor evaluated schools to produce this 2026 value ranking, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard). View our full ranking methodology.
Top 25 Best-Value Chemical Engineering Associate’s Degree Schools in the United States
Here are the top-ranked schools for value:
Austin Community College District tops our 2026 ranking of the best-value Chemical Engineering associate's degree schools in the United States. Located in Austin, TX, Austin Community College District is a public institution. Students from in state pay about $2,550 in tuition and fees, with out-of-state students paying around $10,590. Austin Community College District Chemical Engineering students take on a median of $14,519 in debt. Graduates go on to earn a median of $43,177 ten years after entry. That is a strong return on a $14,519 median debt. More on Austin Community College District
A rank of #2 makes Illinois Institute Of Technology one of the best values in the United States. Get the full Illinois Institute Of Technology report
Out of the 214 schools in the United States in this year's value ranking, University Of Maryland College Park landed the #3 spot. Read the full report on University Of Maryland College Park
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Lafayette College earned it the #4 place in the United States. Get the full Lafayette College report
University Of Houston came in at #5 on this year's best-value Chemical Engineering ranking in the United States. More on University Of Houston
Ohio University Main Campus placed #6 among the best-value Chemical Engineering schools in the United States. More on Ohio University Main Campus
Whatcom Community College offered strong value this year, earning the #7 position. See the full Whatcom Community College profile
University Of New Mexico Main Campus ranked #8 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Get the full University Of New Mexico Main Campus report
Highline Community College came in at #9 in this year's value ranking. More on Highline Community College
North Carolina State University At Raleigh landed the #10 spot for value in the United States this year. Get the full North Carolina State University At Raleigh report
Blinn College
Blinn College ranked #11 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Read more about Blinn College
California Institute Of Technology placed #12 among the best-value Chemical Engineering schools in the United States. Get the full California Institute Of Technology report
Washington University In St Louis landed the #13 spot for value in the United States this year. Read more about Washington University In St Louis
Xavier University ranked #14 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Read more about Xavier University
University Of South Alabama ranked #15 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Get the full University Of South Alabama report
University Of South Carolina Columbia came in at #16 in this year's value ranking. Get the full University Of South Carolina Columbia report
University Of Minnesota Twin Cities ranked #17 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Get the full University Of Minnesota Twin Cities report
University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign came in at #18 in this year's value ranking. More on University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
Carnegie Mellon University offered strong value this year, earning the #19 position. See the full Carnegie Mellon University profile
Ohio University Chillicothe Campus landed the #20 spot for value in the United States this year. Read more about Ohio University Chillicothe Campus
University Of Iowa came in at #21 in this year's value ranking. More on University Of Iowa
University Of Massachusetts Lowell landed the #22 spot for value in the United States this year. Read the full report on University Of Massachusetts Lowell
Widener University Main Campus ranked #23 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Read more about Widener University Main Campus
Trine University
Trine University offered strong value this year, earning the #24 position. Read the full report on Trine University
University Of Delaware placed #25 among the best-value Chemical Engineering schools in the United States. See the full University Of Delaware profile
Rest of the Top 50 Best-Value Chemical Engineering Associate’s Degree Schools in the United States
Not far behind, these schools also offered excellent value:
Northeastern University offered strong value this year, earning the #26 position. See the full Northeastern University profile
Northeastern Oklahoma Aandm College landed the #27 spot for value in the United States this year. See the full Northeastern Oklahoma Aandm College profile
University Of Pennsylvania came in at #28 in this year's value ranking. Get the full University Of Pennsylvania report
Tulane University Of Louisiana came in at #29 in this year's value ranking. More on Tulane University Of Louisiana
University Of California Berkeley placed #30 among the best-value Chemical Engineering schools in the United States. Read more about University Of California Berkeley
Mclennan Community College landed the #31 spot for value in the United States this year. Get the full Mclennan Community College report
Cleveland State University came in at #32 in this year's value ranking. Read the full report on Cleveland State University
San Jose State University landed the #33 spot for value in the United States this year. Get the full San Jose State University report
Youngstown State University landed the #34 spot for value in the United States this year. More on Youngstown State University
Michigan State University landed the #35 spot for value in the United States this year. More on Michigan State University
The University Of Tennessee At Chattanooga ranked #36 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Get the full The University Of Tennessee At Chattanooga report
Lehigh University came in at #37 in this year's value ranking. See the full Lehigh University profile
University Of California Santa Barbara placed #38 among the best-value Chemical Engineering schools in the United States. More on University Of California Santa Barbara
Princeton University offered strong value this year, earning the #39 position. Read more about Princeton University
New Mexico Institute Of Mining And Technology came in at #40 in this year's value ranking. Get the full New Mexico Institute Of Mining And Technology report
University Of California Davis placed #41 among the best-value Chemical Engineering schools in the United States. Get the full University Of California Davis report
Iowa State University landed the #42 spot for value in the United States this year. Read the full report on Iowa State University
Missouri University Of Science And Technology landed the #43 spot for value in the United States this year. See the full Missouri University Of Science And Technology profile
Montana State University placed #44 among the best-value Chemical Engineering schools in the United States. More on Montana State University
Tuskegee University landed the #45 spot for value in the United States this year. See the full Tuskegee University profile
West Virginia University Institute Of Technology ranked #46 on our 2026 list of the best-value Chemical Engineering schools. Get the full West Virginia University Institute Of Technology report
Lone Star College System landed the #47 spot for value in the United States this year. More on Lone Star College System
University Of Akron Main Campus came in at #48 in this year's value ranking. Read more about University Of Akron Main Campus
Bucknell University offered strong value this year, earning the #49 position. Get the full Bucknell University report
Michigan Technological University offered strong value this year, earning the #50 position. Read the full report on Michigan Technological University
Related Chemical Engineering Value Rankings
Compare value rankings at other degree levels:
- Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools (All Levels)
- Best Value Chemical Engineering Certificate Degree Schools
- Best Value Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Certificate Degree Schools
- Best Value Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools
- Best Value Chemical Engineering Graduate Certificate Degree Schools
- Best Value Chemical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools
- Best Value Chemical Engineering Doctoral Degree Schools
Ranking Methodology & Notes
These rankings are produced by Course Advisor (DMS_RANKING_2023), 2026 edition. Rankings consider the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment — drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · Scope: Nation. *Averages shown above reflect the top 214 ranked schools only.
References
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) — National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education (core institutional data).
- College Scorecard — U.S. Department of Education (graduate earnings and outcomes data).
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