2026 Best Value Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Schools in the Great Lakes Region
[Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation](/majors/protective-security-safety-services/fire-protection/wildland-forest-firefighting-and-investigation/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find the best return on investment for wildl&/forest firefighting & investigation students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in wildl&/forest firefighting & investigation, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation Schools
Leading the list is Fox Valley Technical College, our #1 best value for wildl&/forest firefighting & investigation in the Great Lakes Region. Located in the suburb of Appleton, Fox Valley Technical College is a large public university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $5,040, while out-of-state students pay about $7,283. Typical student debt for wildl&/forest firefighting & investigation graduates is $10,000. Wildl&/forest Firefighting & Investigation graduates of Fox Valley Technical College earn a median of $44,020 early in their careers. Set against $10,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff.
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Notes and References
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.
- 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.
