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Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

20 Colleges
$8,783 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$43,832 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Construction Trades School for You

In 2020-2021, 35,794 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.

The Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which 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.

2023 Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top 10 Best Construction Trades Schools

#1

Western Technical College

La Crosse, WI
$6,687 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Western Technical College to be the best value school for construction trades students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of La Crosse, Western Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Western Technical College are $6,687 a year.

Read full report on Construction Trades at Western Technical College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chippewa Valley Technical College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. 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 $6,683 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, CVTC is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Construction Trades Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Construction Trades at Chippewa Valley Technical College

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is a great value for construction trades students. Southwest Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Fennimore.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southwest Tech are $6,683 a year.

Southwest Tech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Construction Trades Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Construction Trades at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Moraine Park Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Moraine Park Technical College is a small public school located in the small city of Fond du Lac.

Moraine Park Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,683 in tuition and fees each year.

Moraine Park Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Construction Trades Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#5

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Out of the 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ivy Tech Community College landed the # 5 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.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Ivy Tech Community College also did well on our Best Construction Trades Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Construction Trades at Ivy Tech Community College Report

$10,760 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Lansing Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for construction trades students. Located in the medium-sized city of Lansing, LCC is a public school with a large student population.

LCC undergraduate students pay an average of $10,760 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Construction Trades at Lansing Community College Report

$5,940 Average Tuition & Fees

Southwestern Illinois College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SWIC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Belleville.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SWIC are $5,940 a year.

Read More…

$7,860 Average Tuition & Fees

Alpena Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value construction trades programs. 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 $7,860 per year.

Read full report on Construction Trades at Alpena Community College

$14,430 Average Tuition & Fees

City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Construction Trades Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Kennedy-King College is a small public school located in the large city of Chicago.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kennedy-King College are $14,430 per year.

Full Construction Trades at City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy-King College Report

$18,828 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Michigan University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value construction trades programs. Northern Michigan University is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Marquette.

Northern Michigan University undergraduate students pay an average of $18,828 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

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 23,527
Building Management & Inspection 4,511
Carpentry 3,273
Plumbing & Water Supply 2,617
Construction 1,435
Masonry 274
Other Construction 157

Majors Similar to Construction Trades

Related Major Annual Graduates
Personal & Culinary Services 130,306
Mechanic & Repair Technologies 96,307
Precision Production 52,905
Transportation & Materials Moving 28,383

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 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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