ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Best Schools in the The Plains States Region

1 Colleges in the United States
30 Best Degrees Awarded
$56,289 Avg Early-Career Salary

Best is a field worth a close look when choosing where to study. The schools below stand out for the quality of their best programs.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools to find the best for best students.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/mathematics-and-statistics/applied-statistics/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/mathematics-and-statistics/applied-statistics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/mathematics-and-statistics/applied-statistics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/mathematics-and-statistics/applied-statistics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/mathematics-and-statistics/applied-statistics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/mathematics-and-statistics/applied-statistics/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/mathematics-and-statistics/applied-statistics/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 10
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 27.06), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "BA in Mathematics" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BA in Mathematics" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BA in Mathematics - Applied Mathematics" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BA in Mathematics - Applied Mathematics" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Data Science (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Data Science (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Data Science (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Data Science (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Analytics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Analytics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Analytics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Analytics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Analytics (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Analytics (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MBA - Analytics (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MBA - Analytics (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Grad Cert - Data Analytics (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Grad Cert - Data Analytics (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Mathematics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Mathematics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 2
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 0 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 0
DEBUG: No ESYOH offers, checking direct offers

Best Schools for Best in the The Plains States Region

If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the best degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Schools in Best

1
University Of Kansas crest
University Of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

No school ranked higher than University Of Kansas this year for best. This very large public university is located in the city of Lawrence. University Of Kansas graduates 69% of students within six years. About 30 best degrees were awarded at University Of Kansas in the most recent year. Soon after graduation, best degree recipients from University Of Kansas generally make around $56,289. University Of Kansas graduates carry a median of $23,608 in student loans. Read more about the best program at University Of Kansas

ADBLOCK #173
View All Best Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 3 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options