2023 Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which trade school program is right for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 224 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best programs for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
Featured schools near , edit
Top Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Miami University - Hamilton the best school in the Great Lakes Region for trade school students working on their degree. Miami University - Hamilton is a small public school situated in Hamilton, Ohio. It awarded 524 degrees in 2021-2022.
The excellent programs at University of St Francis helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best trade schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in Joliet, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 980 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out of the 224 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 9,725 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The excellent programs at Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best trade schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in Angola, Indiana, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 405 degrees in 2021-2022.
Read full report on Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, the large public school handed out 13,356 degrees in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #6, University of Wisconsin - Stout did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. Located in Menomonie, Wisconsin, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,737 degrees in 2021-2022.
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Flex ranked #7 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. This very small public school is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it awarded 132 degrees in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #8, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. Located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the fairly large public school handed out 3,030 degrees in 2021-2022.
Ohio Northern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students. It came in at #9 on the list. ONU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Ada, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 637 degrees in 2021-2022.
Concordia University, Chicago landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Located in River Forest, Illinois, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1,817 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the fairly large public school awarded 2,551 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
Miami University - Middletown landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Miami University - Middletown is a small public school located in Middletown, Ohio that handed out 216 degrees in 2021-2022.
Michigan State University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Michigan State is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 13,090 degrees in 2021-2022.
Marietta College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Marietta is located in Marietta, Ohio and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 315 degrees to qualified students.
With a ranking of #15, Madison Area Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. Madison College is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3,280 degrees in 2021-2022.
Viterbo University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Viterbo is a small private not-for-profit school situated in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It awarded 951 degrees in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #17, Michigan Technological University did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. Michigan Tech is located in Houghton, Michigan and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,754 degrees to qualified students.
DeVry University - Illinois ranked #18 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Naperville, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out degrees to 9,399 students in 2021-2022.
Marquette University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Marquette is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 3,757 degrees to qualified students.
Herzing University - Akron came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Akron, Ohio, the very small private not-for-profit school awarded 185 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
Moraine Park Technical College landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Moraine Park Technical College is a small public school situated in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. It awarded 1,719 degrees in 2021-2022.
Fox Valley Technical College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. FVTC is a public institution located in Appleton, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3,648 degrees in 2021-2022.
Rasmussen University - Illinois ranked #23 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Rockford, Illinois, the small private for-profit school handed out 1,312 degrees in 2021-2022.
Chippewa Valley Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the medium-sized public school handed out 2,576 degrees in 2021-2022.
Ivy Tech Community College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ivy Tech Community College is a large public school situated in Indianapolis, Indiana. It awarded 31,118 degrees in 2021-2022.
View Best Trade Schools Nationwide >
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
![]() |
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |