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Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

11 Colleges
$7,744 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate School for You

In 2021-2022, 40,802 construction trades students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #6 most popular in the country.

It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which basic certificate programs offered the best value experiences for construction trades 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.

Top 10 Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools

Our analysis found Chippewa Valley Technical College to be the best value school for construction trades students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

CVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,793 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, CVTC also is in the top 10% of our Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Southwest Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Fennimore.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southwest Tech are $6,731 per year.

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The excellent basic certificate programs at Moraine Park Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value construction trades schools in the Great Lakes Region . Moraine Park Technical College is a small public school located in the small city of Fond du Lac.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Moraine Park Technical College are $6,793 a year.

Moraine Park Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Full Construction Trades at Moraine Park Technical College Report

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#4

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Out of the 11 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ivy Tech Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ivy Tech Community College are $8,927 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Ivy Tech Community College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Construction Trades at Ivy Tech Community College Report

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The excellent basic certificate programs at Lansing Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value construction trades schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the midsize city of Lansing, LCC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LCC are $10,760 per year.

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Southwestern Illinois College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for construction trades students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. SWIC is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Belleville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SWIC are $6,210 per year.

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City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for construction trades students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Kennedy-King College is a small public school located in the city of Chicago.

Kennedy-King College undergraduate students pay an average of $14,430 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Construction Trades at City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College

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Alpena Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the rural area of Alpena, Alpena Community College is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Alpena Community College are $7,995 per year.

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#9

Mid-EastCTC-Adult Education

Zanesville, OH

Mid-EastCTC-Adult Education did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for construction trades students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the rural area of Zanesville, Mid-EastCTC-Adult Education is a public school with a small student population.

Full Construction Trades at Mid-EastCTC-Adult Education Report

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Pickaway Ross Joint Vocational School District landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate construction trades programs. Located in the town of Chillicothe, Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center is a public college with a fairly small student population.

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Best Construction Trades Colleges by State

Explore the best construction trades schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 2,009
Michigan 417
Wisconsin 1,075
Ohio 538
Illinois 900

Construction Trades Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Electrical & Power Transmission Installers 26,459
Building Management & Inspection 5,269
Carpentry 3,899
Plumbing & Water Supply 2,888
Construction 1,813
Masonry 284
Other Construction 190

Majors Similar to Construction Trades

Related Major Annual Graduates
Personal & Culinary Services 149,352
Mechanic & Repair Technologies 105,741
Precision Production 55,411
Transportation & Materials Moving 33,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 11 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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