2026 Best Value Human Nutrition Schools in the The Plains States Region
[Human Nutrition](/majors/family-consumer-human-sciences/food-nutrition-services/human-nutrition/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools to find the best return on investment for human nutrition students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Human Nutrition Schools in the The Plains States Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in human nutrition, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Human Nutrition Schools
Leading the list is South Dakota State University, our #1 best value for human nutrition in the The Plains States Region. Set in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State University is a large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $9,299, with out-of-state students paying around $12,809. Human Nutrition graduates carry a median of $24,989 in student loans. Human Nutrition graduates of South Dakota State University earn a median of $51,260 early in their careers. Set against $24,989 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. South Dakota State University admits about 98% of applicants.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published 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 · 5 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
