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Best Value Urban Studies Schools

2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

89 Colleges
$23,419 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,193 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Urban Studies School for You

Urban Studies is the #208 most popular major in the country with 1,507 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Urban Studies Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 89 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best value experiences for urban studies students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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.

Top 15% Best Urban Studies Schools

Our analysis found The Graduate Center, CUNY to be the best value school for urban studies students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at The Graduate Center are $15,360 a year.

The Graduate Center excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Urban Studies Schools list.

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#2

Xavier University

Cincinnati, OH

The excellent programs at Xavier University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best urban studies schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, Xavier is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Xavier are $42,460 per year.

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#3

Coppin State University

Baltimore, MD
$13,334 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Coppin State University is a great value for urban studies students. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Coppin is a public school with a small student population.

Coppin undergraduate students pay an average of $13,334 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Urban Studies at Coppin State University Report

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Out of the 89 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jose State are $19,732 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, San Jose State also did well on our Best Urban Studies Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Urban Studies at San Jose State University

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The excellent programs at Minnesota State University - Mankato helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best urban studies schools in the United States. Minnesota State Mankato is a large public school located in the city of Mankato.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $18,200 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Minnesota State Mankato is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Urban Studies Schools list.

Full Urban Studies at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

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University of Minnesota - Duluth came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Urban Studies Schools ranking. UMN Duluth is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Duluth.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UMN Duluth are $19,148 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UMN Duluth also is in the top 15% of our Best Urban Studies Schools ranking.

Full Urban Studies at University of Minnesota - Duluth Report

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#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$19,184 Average Tuition & Fees

San Francisco State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Urban Studies Schools ranking. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SFSU are $19,184 a year. While working on their degree, urban studies majors at SFSU accumulate an average of around $20,301 in student debt.

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#8

Hunter College

New York, NY
$15,332 Average Tuition & Fees

Hunter College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools list. Hunter is a very large public school located in the city of New York.

Hunter undergraduate students pay an average of $15,332 in tuition and fees each year.

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University of Nebraska at Omaha ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools list. UNOMAHA is a large public school located in the city of Omaha.

UNOMAHA undergraduate students pay an average of $21,718 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UNOMAHA also did well on our Best Urban Studies Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Urban Studies at University of Nebraska at Omaha Report

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University of Wisconsin - Green Bay came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Urban Studies Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Green Bay, UW - Green Bay is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

UW - Green Bay undergraduate students pay an average of $16,091 in tuition and fees each year.

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#11

Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN

With a ranking of #11, Saint Cloud State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for urban studies students. St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public school located in the city of Saint Cloud.

St. Cloud State University undergraduate students pay an average of $18,010 in tuition and fees each year.

St. Cloud State University excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Urban Studies Schools list.

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#12

Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH
$16,654 Average Tuition & Fees

Cleveland State University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools list. Located in the city of Cleveland, Cleveland State University is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cleveland State University are $16,654 per year. On average, urban studies graduates from Cleveland State University take out $31,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$19,252 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #13, Wright State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for urban studies students. Located in the large suburb of Dayton, Wright State University - Main Campus is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Wright State University - Main Campus are $19,252 a year.

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Urban Studies students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Urban Studies Schools award.

Rank College Location
14 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
15 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
16 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
17 University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK

Urban Studies by Region

View the Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Urban Studies is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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 Andrew Bossi.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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