10-yr median earnings
$41,016
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Kirkwood Community College
Kirkwood Community College is a public institution in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. as a public institution, published Scorecard outcomes are the federal Title-IV cohort view of former students — not every graduate and not a guarantee for any one enrollee.
- $9,705
- Avg net price / yr
- $41,016
- 10-yr median earnings
- 41.7%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Kirkwood Community College posts above-median former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 49%
- former-student earnings, US
- 41.7%
- 150%-time completion
- +9%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Midsize
Carnegie: Associate's
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Kirkwood Community College profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Associate's Colleges: High Career & Technical-Mixed Traditional/Nontraditional"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
C-
College Value Score
53/100
Kirkwood Community College
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings C-
$41,016
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price B+
$9,705
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
41.7%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt C
$12,000
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment C
61.5%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention N/A
N/A
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$9,705
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
41.7%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 41.7%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Kirkwood Community College vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Kirkwood Community College ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Kirkwood Community College: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$41,016 Top 49% higher than 51% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Kirkwood Community College | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $41,016 | #2517 of 5103 | 51st |
| Average net price | $9,705 | #1080 of 5020 | 78th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 41.7% | #3553 of 4858 | 27th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 7,591 | #482 of 5462 | 91st |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
7,591
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
41.7%
150%-time completion
$41,016
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
How Kirkwood Community College ranks in Iowa
State rank among 69 reporting Iowa colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Kirkwood Community College | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $41,016 | #40 of 69 | 42nd |
| Average net price | $9,705 | #7 of 68 | 90th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 41.7% | #49 of 63 | 22nd |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 7,591 | #4 of 73 | 95th |
Highest former-student earnings in Iowa
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drake University | $71,901 | $29,127 |
| 2 | Allen College | $71,261 | - |
| 3 | University of Iowa | $64,762 | $22,531 |
| 4 | Iowa State University | $63,386 | $18,589 |
| 5 | Grinnell College | $62,830 | $17,648 |
| 6 | Mercy College of Health Sciences | $62,234 | $26,924 |
| 7 | St Luke's College | $61,033 | $19,820 |
| 8 | Mount Mercy University | $60,787 | $20,168 |
| 9 | Luther College | $59,850 | $23,097 |
| 10 | Saint Ambrose University | $59,531 | $24,691 |
| 11 | Palmer College of Chiropractic | $59,483 | - |
| 12 | Simpson College | $59,274 | $21,936 |
| 40 | Kirkwood Community CollegeThis school | $41,016 | $9,705 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Kirkwood Community College
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$6,967 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$7,084 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$9,514 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$14,091 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Kirkwood Community College - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $6,176 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $8,220 |
| Average Net Price | $9,705 |
23.7%
Pell Grant Rate
21.0%
Federal Loan Rate
$12,000
Median Debt
$127/mo
Monthly Payment
Kirkwood Community College costs less today than it did in 2013
Average net price fell from $11,081 to $9,388 (-15.3%) between 2013 and 2023, before any inflation adjustment, which makes the real-terms fall larger still. Most colleges moved the other way: the median change across the 4,315 schools measured over the same span was +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $11,0812023 · $9,388
Over the same years, enrollment went -30.1% (10,645 → 7,438 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
53.3%
Female
38.7%
First Generation
Outcomes
$37,525
Median Earnings (6yr)
57.6%
Earning Over $25K
61.5%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 41.7% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $37,525 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $41,016 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 57.6% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 61.5% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $12,000 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $127/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate's | 27 | 1,525 | $53,213 | $71,497 | $13,067 |
| Certificate | 6 | 282 | $52,149 | $72,932 | - |
| Level 99 | 1 | 0 | $42,336 | $42,336 | - |
Top programs at Kirkwood Community College by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Practical Nursing, Vocatio…
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
$72,932 median earnings
- Electromechanical Technolo…
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians
$71,497 median earnings
- Computer Programming
Computer Programming
$70,139 median earnings
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$67,604 median earnings
- Construction Management
Construction Management
$64,917 median earnings
- Allied Health Diagnostic, …
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
$64,068 median earnings
- Agricultural Mechanization
Agricultural Mechanization
$63,467 median earnings
- Computer/Information Techn…
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management
$61,572 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Matches use Scorecard measures among reporting colleges — not state-system recommendations or geographic proximity.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Public institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Public institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Kirkwood Community College? ▼
Kirkwood Community College is a public institution in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Undergraduate enrollment is 7,591 students.
How much do Kirkwood Community College former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Kirkwood Community College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $41,016 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $37,525.
How much does Kirkwood Community College cost? ▼
The average net price at Kirkwood Community College is $9,705. In-state tuition is $6,176 and out-of-state tuition is $8,220. Median student debt at graduation is $12,000.
What is the graduation rate at Kirkwood Community College? ▼
Kirkwood Community College has a 41.7% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Is Kirkwood Community College worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Kirkwood Community College is $12,000, while former students earn a median of $41,016 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 29% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 61.5% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $127.
Sources & methodology
Public-college profiles lean on IPEDS enrollment and Scorecard Title-IV outcomes. State appropriations are outside this page; the figures below are the federal cohort measures only.
Every number is read live from the Mar–Jul 2026 Scorecard/IPEDS retrievals. Public institutions often enroll large Title-IV cohorts, so medians can be stable — still cohort averages, never a personal forecast. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Kirkwood Community College
- Compare Kirkwood Community College against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Iowa side by side.Browse Iowa
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Public-college Scorecard figures are historical Title-IV cohort averages — confirm current tuition, aid, and admissions rules with the institution before deciding.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Public-institution profiles compile Scorecard Title-IV earnings, IPEDS enrollment/admissions, and Treasury linkage fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.