2027 Best Value Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Schools in Iowa
[Mental Health Counseling/Counselor](/majors/health-care-professions/mental-social-health-services/mental-health-counseling-counselor/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong mental health counseling/counselor education at a price that pays off.
To produce this 2027 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for mental health counseling/counselor students.
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2027 Best Value Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Schools in Iowa
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in mental health counseling/counselor, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Mental Health Counseling/Counselor Schools
Leading the list is University Of Northern Iowa, our #1 best value for mental health counseling/counselor in Iowa. Set in the city of Cedar Falls, University Of Northern Iowa is a large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $9,936, with out-of-state students paying around $21,712. Students borrow a median of $22,635 to complete the mental health counseling/counselor program here. Soon after graduation, mental health counseling/counselor degree recipients from University Of Northern Iowa generally make around $47,858. That is a strong return on a $22,635 median debt. Roughly 93% of applicants are accepted.
Grand View University came in at #2 on our 2027 list of the best value mental health counseling/counselor schools. Located in the city of Des Moines, Grand View University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $34,762. Typical student debt for mental health counseling/counselor graduates is $26,941. Early-career mental health counseling/counselor graduates make about $45,180. Set against $26,941 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 99%.
University Of Iowa came in at #3 on our 2027 list of the best value mental health counseling/counselor schools. Set in the city of Iowa City, University Of Iowa is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $11,283, compared with $33,371 for out-of-state students. Mental Health Counseling/counselor graduates carry a median of $24,463 in student loans. Early-career mental health counseling/counselor graduates make about $57,375. That is a strong return on a $24,463 median debt. Roughly 84% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 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 3 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.
