Iowa Higher Education Outcome Report

• Institutions

  45

  111,678 students enrolled

• Graduates / Year

  ~17,341

  Estimated annual completers

• Median Earnings

  78th pct

  $53,142

  11th of 50 states

• Mobility Score

  24th pct

  1.3%

  35th of 46 states

• Talent Retention

  82nd pct

  70%

  First-year retention rate

• Value Ratio

  42nd pct

  2.7x

  Earnings per net-price dollar

1. 1

   Iowa graduates earn a median of $53,142 a decade after entry, 9% above the national state average, ranking 11th of 50 states.

2. 2

   Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.3% rate, in the 24th percentile nationally.

3. 3

   Degree production is led by Business and Healthcare, which together account for 38% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.

4. 4

   Engineering is the standout sector: graduates earn $58,110, +12.7% versus the national median. That premium points to a real wage advantage rather than sheer volume.

5. 5

   Humanities shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 18.1% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.

6. 6

   On value, Iowa returns 2.7x earnings per dollar of net price, roughly average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.

• Earnings vs National

  ▲ +0.5%

  Median graduate earnings in Iowa are above the national average by 1%.

• Cost vs National

  ▲ -0.8%

  Net price in Iowa is lower than the national average by 1%.

• Mobility Rate

  ▼ -0.55pp

  Upward mobility rate is 0.5 percentage points below the national average.

• Completion Rate

  ▲ +2.2pp

  Iowa's graduation rate is 2.2 percentage points above the national average.

• Best Value

  ▲ 6.1x

  Top value school: La James College of Hairstyling and Cosmetology ($27,484 earnings vs $4,522 net price).

• Top Mobility School

  ▲ 3.4%

  Highest mobility rate: Clarke University at 3.4%.

Business (24% of graduates) and Healthcare (14% of graduates) dominate Iowa's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $51,809.

• Business

  24%

  $51,809 avg

• Healthcare

  14%

  $54,688 avg

• Humanities

  10%

  $45,677 avg

• Social Sciences

  8%

  $56,581 avg

• Engineering

  8%

  $57,526 avg

Iowa's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Construction Trades), where graduates average $42,823 against a net cost of $11,341, a 3.8x return. That's -17% vs the national median.

• Construction Trades

  3.8x
  $42,823 earnings · $11,341 net -17% vs natl

• Mechanic & Repair Tech

  3.8x
  $42,823 earnings · $11,341 net -17% vs natl

• Culinary & Personal Services

  3.8x
  $41,747 earnings · $11,058 net -19.1% vs natl

• Precision Production

  3.8x
  $42,597 earnings · $11,352 net -17.4% vs natl

• Transportation

  3.0x
  $46,395 earnings · $15,703 net -10% vs natl

• Legal Studies

  2.9x
  $51,762 earnings · $17,970 net +0.4% vs natl

Three lenses on Iowa's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

Iowa's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.3%, which puts the state in the 24th percentile nationally. 7% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.60, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

Iowa's Engineering programs produce graduates earning $58,110, +12.7% relative to the national median. Humanities graduates, however, earn 18.1% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

• Business

  24% of enrollment
  $51,326 -0.5% vs natl

  36 schools

• Healthcare

  14% of enrollment
  $51,694 +0.2% vs natl

  31 schools

• Humanities

  10% of enrollment
  $42,227 -18.1% vs natl

  12 schools

• Social Sciences

  8% of enrollment
  $56,256 +9.1% vs natl

  20 schools

• Engineering

  8% of enrollment
  $58,110 +12.7% vs natl

  6 schools

• Education

  8% of enrollment
  $53,762 +4.2% vs natl

  22 schools

Iowa's higher education system includes 2 research-oriented, 3 specialized, 5 access-oriented, 35 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

• 🔬

  2

  Research Universities

• 🏛️

  35

  Regional Universities

• 🚀

  5

  Access-Oriented Institutions

• 🎯

  3

  Specialized Institutions

28% of Iowa's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $41,269 at 10 years.

• NET PRICE UNDER $15K

  11

  28% of schools

  Avg earnings: $41,269

• NET PRICE $15K–$25K

  23

  57% of schools

  Avg earnings: $55,380

• NET PRICE $25K–$40K

  6

  15% of schools

  Avg earnings: $58,032

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

1. 01 Drake University Des Moines, IA $71,901
2. 02 Allen College Waterloo, IA $71,261
3. 03 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA $64,762
4. 04 Iowa State University Ames, IA $63,386
5. 05 Grinnell College Grinnell, IA $62,830
6. 06 Mercy College of Health Sciences Des Moines, IA $62,234
7. 07 St Luke's College Sioux City, IA $61,033
8. 08 Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, IA $60,787

What graduates in Iowa earn relative to what they pay for college.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →