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2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent.
The Best Value Trade School 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. This report analyzed 168 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for trade school students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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.
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Top Value Trade Schools in the Plains States Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Southeast Community College Area to be the best value school for trade school students in the Plains States Region . Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,344 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,864 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Highland Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region list. Highland Community College is a public institution located in Highland, Kansas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 601 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Highland Community College are $3,330 a year.
The excellent programs at Cloud County Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value trade schools in the Plains States Region . Cloud County Community College is located in Concordia, Kansas and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 471 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cloud County Community College are $3,570 per year.
The excellent programs at North Hennepin Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value trade schools in the Plains States Region . This small public school is located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and it awarded 1,207 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Hennepin Community College are $5,050 per year.
The excellent programs at Hutchinson Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value trade schools in the Plains States Region . Hutchinson Community College is located in Hutchinson, Kansas and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,608 degrees to qualified students.
Hutchinson Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,530 in tuition and fees each year.
Neosho County Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region list. Neosho County Community College is a small public school situated in Chanute, Kansas. It awarded 791 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Neosho County Community College are $4,416 per year.
Rochester Community and Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in Rochester, Minnesota, the small public school handed out 929 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Rochester Community and Technical College are $5,670 a year.
Bismarck State College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in Bismarck, North Dakota, the small public school awarded 1,078 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
BSC undergraduate students pay an average of $7,227 in tuition and fees each year.
BSC also claimed a spot on our Best Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
Alexandria Technical & Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Alexandria Technical & Community College is a small public school located in Alexandria, Minnesota that handed out 662 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ATCC are $6,107 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, ATCC also is in the top 15% of our Best Trade Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.
Garden City Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Garden City Community College is located in Garden City, Kansas and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 656 degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Garden City Community College are $4,110 a year.
Johnson County Community College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. JCCC is a fairly large public school situated in Overland Park, Kansas. It awarded 2,809 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at JCCC are $5,472 a year.
Central Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Central Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Grand Island, Nebraska. It awarded 2,601 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Community College are $4,710 per year.
Metropolitan Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Omaha, Nebraska, and it awarded 1,823 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MCC are $4,815 per year.
Northeast Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #14 on the list. Northeast is a medium-sized public school situated in Norfolk, Nebraska. It awarded 938 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Northeast are $5,130 a year.
Western Iowa Tech Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #15 on the list. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Sioux City, Iowa that handed out 1,848 degrees in 2021-2022.
Western Iowa Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,946 in tuition and fees each year.
Anoka Technical College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in Anoka, Minnesota, the small public school awarded 985 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
Anoka Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,075 in tuition and fees each year.
Central Lakes College - Brainerd did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #17 on the list. This small public school is located in Brainerd, Minnesota, and it awarded 856 degrees in 2021-2022.
Central Lakes College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,140 in tuition and fees each year.
Hennepin Technical College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Hennepin Technical College is a public institution located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,738 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Hennepin Technical College are $5,881 a year.
St Cloud Technical and Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #19 on the list. St Cloud Technical and Community College is a small public school located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota that handed out 1,009 degrees in 2021-2022.
St Cloud Technical and Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,075 in tuition and fees each year.
Century College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Century College is located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2,113 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Century College are $6,105 per year.
Northwest Iowa Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #21 on the list. Northwest Iowa Community College is a public institution located in Sheldon, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 356 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Northwest Iowa Community College are $7,170 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Northwest Iowa Community College also did well on our Best Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Saint Paul College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Saint Paul, Minnesota is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,328 students in 2021-2022.
Saint Paul College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,318 in tuition and fees each year.
Ridgewater College landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Ridgewater College is a small public school located in Willmar, Minnesota that handed out 742 degrees in 2021-2022.
Ridgewater College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,114 in tuition and fees each year.
North Dakota State College of Science did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #24 on the list. North Dakota State College of Science is a small public school situated in Wahpeton, North Dakota. It awarded 569 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Dakota State College of Science are $6,879 per year.
North Dakota State College of Science also claimed a spot on our Best Trade Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Dodge City Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #25 on the list. Dodge City Community College is a small public school located in Dodge City, Kansas that handed out 363 degrees in 2021-2022.
Dodge City Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,890 in tuition and fees each year.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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.
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