Best Public Universities in the Great Plains

Best Public Universities in the Great Plains, ranked by median 10-year earnings. Region: Census West North Central division. Included states / district: IA KS MN MO NE ND SD. Median earnings of federally aided former students who are working and not enrolled, 10 years after entry; includes students who did not graduate. “Best” on this page means highest reported earnings, not an overall quality score. Four-year colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online-only schools are excluded. This page lists all 48 colleges in the ranking. Search and filter the list.

1Missouri University of Science and TechnologyRolla, Missouri73%1317$16k$83k64%5,521344 mi 2South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyRapid City, South Dakota80%1245$20k$72k53%2,071569 mi 3University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesMinneapolis, Minnesota80%1362$17k$69k85%31,855134 mi 4University of IowaIowa City, Iowa84%1200$23k$65k75%22,264195 mi 5Metropolitan State UniversitySaint Paul, Minnesota99%1020$17k$65k44%5,616131 mi 6University of North DakotaGrand Forks, North Dakota77%—$19k$64k60%9,981245 mi 7University of Missouri-ColumbiaColumbia, Missouri78%1247$20k$63k75%23,929318 mi 8Iowa State UniversityAmes, Iowa89%1204$19k$63k75%25,367299 mi 9University of Minnesota-DuluthDuluth, Minnesota89%1251$19k$63k65%7,336< 1 mi 10North Dakota State University-Main CampusFargo, North Dakota95%1150$16k$62k64%9,471222 mi 11University of KansasLawrence, Kansas93%1190$18k$62k69%21,217448 mi 12University of Missouri-Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri72%1204$13k$60k55%6,817415 mi 13Winona State UniversityWinona, Minnesota75%—$18k$59k57%5,144180 mi 14University of Minnesota-CrookstonCrookston, Minnesota88%—$12k$58k50%1,729222 mi 15Kansas State UniversityManhattan, Kansas82%1151$19k$57k71%15,142505 mi 16Minnesota State University-MankatoMankato, Minnesota88%1150$19k$57k54%11,703201 mi 17University of Nebraska-LincolnLincoln, Nebraska87%1191$18k$57k67%19,178469 mi 18Truman State UniversityKirksville, Missouri84%1320$13k$56k69%2,513283 mi 19Saint Cloud State UniversitySaint Cloud, Minnesota95%1092$14k$56k40%5,088129 mi 20University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, Iowa93%1122$16k$55k68%7,529234 mi 21South Dakota State UniversityBrookings, South Dakota98%1120$20k$55k62%9,198282 mi 22University of Nebraska at OmahaOmaha, Nebraska87%1120$13k$54k47%11,488425 mi 23Bemidji State UniversityBemidji, Minnesota56%1090$15k$54k48%3,139139 mi 24University of Missouri-St LouisSaint Louis, Missouri63%1199$15k$53k57%5,024254 mi 25University of South DakotaVermillion, South Dakota99%1125$20k$52k60%5,439362 mi 26Minot State UniversityMinot, North Dakota65%1051$13k$52k45%2,062440 mi 27Wichita State UniversityWichita, Kansas94%1092$13k$52k51%10,780565 mi 28Southwest Minnesota State UniversityMarshall, Minnesota62%1050$15k$51k45%2,315238 mi 29Dakota State UniversityMadison, South Dakota88%1215$21k$51k51%2,071308 mi 30Dickinson State UniversityDickinson, North Dakota37%—$14k$51k51%1,090505 mi 31Pittsburg State UniversityPittsburg, Kansas89%1050$16k$51k57%4,210486 mi 32Minnesota State University MoorheadMoorhead, Minnesota59%1090$18k$51k57%3,072220 mi 33University of Nebraska at KearneyKearney, Nebraska89%1118$16k$50k58%4,088544 mi 34Missouri State University-SpringfieldSpringfield, Missouri91%1122$18k$50k58%13,313438 mi 35Washburn UniversityTopeka, Kansas——$15k$50k53%4,562468 mi 36University of Central MissouriWarrensburg, Missouri64%1050$14k$50k54%5,648386 mi 37Fort Hays State UniversityHays, Kansas90%1089$13k$49k48%9,733648 mi 38Northwest Missouri State UniversityMaryville, Missouri86%1119$16k$48k54%4,378389 mi 39Northern State UniversityAberdeen, South Dakota93%1089$16k$48k49%1,273318 mi 40Emporia State UniversityEmporia, Kansas98%1120$16k$48k56%2,239511 mi 41Wayne State CollegeWayne, Nebraska——$15k$47k52%3,010394 mi 42Peru State CollegePeru, Nebraska——$12k$47k38%1,092428 mi 43Chadron State CollegeChadron, Nebraska——$13k$47k50%1,540599 mi 44Black Hills State UniversitySpearfish, South Dakota96%1087$16k$47k43%1,928589 mi 45Southeast Missouri State UniversityCape Girardeau, Missouri74%950$16k$44k58%6,373320 mi 46Missouri Western State UniversitySaint Joseph, Missouri——$13k$43k39%2,219402 mi 47Missouri Southern State UniversityJoplin, Missouri97%1065$12k$43k42%3,019489 mi 48Lincoln UniversityJefferson City, Missouri——$19k$39k21%1,392328 mi

US Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS. Missing or suppressed values are excluded. A ranking is a comparison of the named measure, not an overall quality score.