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Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

13 Colleges
$7,983 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate School for You

With 40,802 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022, construction trades is the #6 most popular major in the United States.

With all the trade school programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.

The Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 13 schools in the Plains States 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.


 

2023 Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools

#1

North Hennepin Community College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Our analysis found North Hennepin Community College to be the best value school for construction trades students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Plains States Region . North Hennepin Community College is a small public school located in the suburb of Brooklyn Park.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at North Hennepin Community College are $5,050 a year.

North Hennepin Community College also took the #2 spot in our Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Plains States Region rankings.

Read full report on Construction Trades at North Hennepin Community College

Out of the 13 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Iowa Tech Community College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Sioux City, Western Iowa Tech Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,946 a year.

Full Construction Trades at Western Iowa Tech Community College Report

The excellent basic certificate programs at Mitchell Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value construction trades schools in the Plains States Region . Mitchell Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Mitchell.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mitchell Tech are $7,524 per year.

Full Construction Trades at Mitchell Technical College Report

Out of the 13 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Washburn Institute of Technology landed the # 4 spot on the list. Washburn Tech is a small public school located in the midsize city of Topeka.

Washburn Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $8,640 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Construction Trades at Washburn Institute of Technology Report

The excellent basic certificate programs at Metropolitan Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value construction trades schools in the Plains States Region . MCC is a large public school located in the city of Omaha.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MCC are $4,815 per year.

Read More…

Anoka Technical 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. Located in the suburb of Anoka, Anoka Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Anoka Technical College are $6,075 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Anoka Technical College also did well on our Best Construction Trades Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Construction Trades at Anoka Technical College

#7

Lake Superior College

Duluth, MN

Lake Superior College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Construction Trades Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. LSC is a small public school located in the small city of Duluth.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LSC are $6,404 a year.

Read More…

#8

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

Saint Paul College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate construction trades programs. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Paul College are $6,318 a year.

Read full report on Construction Trades at Saint Paul College

Manhattan Area Technical 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 #9 on the list. Located in the city of Manhattan, MATC is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MATC are $8,400 per year.

Read full report on Construction Trades at Manhattan Area Technical College

Minnesota West Community and Technical 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 #10 on the list. Minnesota West is a small public school located in the remote town of Granite Falls.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Minnesota West are $12,332 per year.

Read More…

Best Construction Trades Colleges by State

Explore the best construction trades schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 605
Minnesota 1,185
Iowa 402
South Dakota 250
North Dakota 99
Missouri 295
Nebraska 412

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 13 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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