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Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$31,403 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$47,196 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Economics School for You

In 2020-2021, 321 degrees and certificates were awarded to economics students who went to a Iowa college or university. This makes it the #31 most popular major in the state.

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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in Iowa to see which programs offered the best value experiences for economics 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 Economics Schools in Iowa

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

Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Economics

#1

University of Northern Iowa

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

Our 2023 rankings named University of Northern Iowa the best value school in Iowa for economics students. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNI are $9,053 a year. After completing their degree, economics graduates from UNI carry an average student debtload of $22,063.

UNI also made our Best Economics Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #5.

Full Economics at University of Northern Iowa Report

$9,634 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa list. Iowa State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Ames.

Iowa State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,634 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, economics majors at Iowa State accumulate an average of around $20,000 in student debt.

Iowa State also took the #4 spot in our Best Economics Schools in Iowa rankings.

Full Economics at Iowa State University Report

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA
$9,942 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa are $9,942 a year. Economics majors at Iowa take out an average of $26,125 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $402.

Iowa also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Schools in Iowa list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#4

University of Dubuque

Dubuque, IA
$36,010 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 8 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Dubuque landed the # 4 spot on the list. UD is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Dubuque.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UD are $36,010 per year.

Read full report on Economics at University of Dubuque

#5

Grinnell College

Grinnell, IA
$58,648 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Grinnell College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa list. Grinnell is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Grinnell.

Grinnell undergraduate students pay an average of $58,648 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that economics majors at Grinnell take out is $17,293.

Grinnell also made our Best Economics Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #2.

Read More…

#6

Drake University

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

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

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

Drake also made our Best Economics Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

#7

Loras College

Dubuque, IA
$35,268 Average Tuition & Fees

Loras College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Dubuque, Loras is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Loras are $35,268 a year.

Read More…

#8

Luther College

Decorah, IA
$46,760 Average Tuition & Fees

Luther College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in Iowa list. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Decorah.

Luther undergraduate students pay an average of $46,760 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Economics at Luther College

Best Value Economics Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 420
Minnesota 847
Kansas 344
Nebraska 111
North Dakota 41
South Dakota 43

One of 12 majors within the area of study, economics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Economics

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 8 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 pixabay.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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