by our College Data Analytics Team
[General Education](/majors/education/general-education/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong general education education at a price that pays off.
College Factual analyzed 3 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value general education schools.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in general education, balancing cost against outcomes.
Leading the list is Mayville State University, our #1 best value for general education in North Dakota. Located in the rural area of Mayville, Mayville State University is a small public university. In-state tuition and fees average $7,979, while out-of-state students pay about $11,237. Typical student debt for general education graduates is $27,464. Early-career general education graduates make about $49,971. That is a strong return on a $27,464 median debt.
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 3 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.