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Best Value Law Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Law Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

14 Colleges
$32,649 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$58,717 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Law School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, law was ranked #28 in the country. In fact 36,216 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Law Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in the Plains States Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for law students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Law Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Law Colleges.

Top 10 Best Law Schools

#1

Drake University

Des Moines, IA

Our 2023 rankings named Drake University the best value school in the Plains States Region for law students. Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Drake are $45,912 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Drake also did well on our Best Law Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#2

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD
$12,942 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of South Dakota. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Law Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USD are $12,942 per year.

Read full report on Law at University of South Dakota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Nebraska - Lincoln. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Law Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Lincoln, UNL is a public college with a very large student population.

UNL undergraduate students pay an average of $26,720 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UNL is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Law Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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#4

Creighton University

Omaha, NE

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Creighton University is a great value for law students. Creighton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Omaha.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Creighton are $44,524 per year.

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#5

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND
$15,037 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of North Dakota helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best law schools in the Plains States Region . UND is a large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.

UND undergraduate students pay an average of $15,037 in tuition and fees each year.

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University of St Thomas Minnesota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for law students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UST MN are $48,329 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UST MN is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Law Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Law at University of St Thomas Minnesota Report

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value law programs. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMN Twin Cities are $33,818 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UMN Twin Cities also is in the top 15% of our Best Law Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

Full Law at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report

#8

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS
$28,034 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, University of Kansas did quite well on this year’s best value schools for law students. Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

KU undergraduate students pay an average of $28,034 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Law at University of Kansas

#9

Washburn University

Topeka, KS
$19,876 Average Tuition & Fees

Washburn University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value law programs. Located in the midsize city of Topeka, Washburn University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Washburn University are $19,876 a year.

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#10

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

University of Iowa did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for law students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $31,905 per year.

Iowa excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Law Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Read More…

Best Law Colleges by State

Explore the best law colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 619
Minnesota 693
Kansas 198
Iowa 237
Nebraska 216
North Dakota 56
South Dakota 62

More Law Rankings in the Plains States Region

One of 4 majors within the area of study, law has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Legal Support Services 11,545
Legal Research 6,874
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 4,407
Legal Professions (Other) 2,013

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 14 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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