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College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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2026 Best Value Software Engineering Schools in Iowa

1 Colleges in the United States
$24,337 Avg Student Debt
$63,386 Avg Median Earnings (10yr)
2026 Best Value Software Engineering Badge [Software Engineering](/majors/engineering/ce-computer-engineering/software-engineering/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for software engineering students.

What’s on this page:

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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Development & Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Development & Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Development & Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Software Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Engineering Boot Camp (All Degree Levels)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
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DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Software Engineering (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
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DEBUG: Checking offer "Computer Science (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.8
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DEBUG: Checking offer "Computer Science (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Computer Science (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BS in Computer Science - Software Engineering" with relevance 0.8
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DEBUG: Checking offer "Electrical Engineering (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
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2026 Best Value Software Engineering Schools in Iowa

If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the software engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.

Best Value Software Engineering Schools

1

For return on investment in software engineering, no school beat Iowa State University this year. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State University is a very large public university. In-state tuition and fees average $10,787, with out-of-state students paying around $28,881. Typical student debt for software engineering graduates is $24,337. Software Engineering graduates of Iowa State University earn a median of $79,182 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 89% of applicants are accepted.

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Notes and References

This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, 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.

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