10-yr median earnings
$64,762
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Iowa City, Iowa
University of Iowa
University of Iowa is a public institution in Iowa City, 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.
- $22,531
- Avg net price / yr
- $64,762
- 10-yr median earnings
- 73.9%
- 150%-time completion
- 83.6%
- Acceptance rate
The verdict
University of Iowa pairs top-quartile former-student earnings with open admission.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 11%
- former-student earnings, US
- 83.6%
- acceptance rate
- 73.9%
- 150%-time completion
- +23%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Small
Carnegie: R1
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this University of Iowa 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 ("Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity"), 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
64/100
University of Iowa
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 A
$64,762
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$22,531
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate B+
73.9%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$22,500
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A
79.4%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A-
90.4%
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
$22,531
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
73.9%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 73.9%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - University of Iowa 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 University of Iowa 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.
University of Iowa: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$64,762 Top 11% higher than 89% 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 | University of Iowa | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $64,762 | #545 of 5103 | 89th |
| Average net price | $22,531 | #3559 of 5020 | 29th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 73.9% | #1113 of 4858 | 77th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 22,264 | #108 of 5462 | 98th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
22,264
Undergraduate enrollment
83.6%
Acceptance rate
1,200
SAT average
73.9%
150%-time completion
$64,762
10-yr median earnings
90.4%
First-year retention
How University of Iowa ranks in Iowa
State rank among 69 reporting Iowa colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | University of Iowa | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $64,762 | #3 of 69 | 96th |
| Average net price | $22,531 | #52 of 68 | 24th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 73.9% | #12 of 63 | 81st |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 22,264 | #2 of 73 | 97th |
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 IowaThis school | $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 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 83.6% |
| SAT Average | 1,200 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 560 – 660 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 570 – 670 |
| ACT Average | 26 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 21 – 28 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at University of Iowa
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$15,316 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$15,489 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$19,930 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$26,266 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at University of Iowa - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $11,283 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $33,371 |
| Average Net Price | $22,531 |
18.4%
Pell Grant Rate
41.9%
Federal Loan Rate
$22,500
Median Debt
$239/mo
Monthly Payment
What students pay at University of Iowa rose +30.1% since 2013
Average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort went from $16,447 in 2013 to $21,398 in 2023, a rise of $4,951 in nominal dollars. Across the 4,315 colleges measured over the same 2013–2023 span, the median change was +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $16,4472023 · $21,398
Over the same years, enrollment went +1.8% (21,314 → 21,691 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
56.2%
Female
22.3%
First Generation
Outcomes
90.4%
Retention Rate
$52,696
Median Earnings (6yr)
79.7%
Earning Over $25K
79.4%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 73.9% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 90.4% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $52,696 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $64,762 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 79.7% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 79.4% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $22,500 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $239/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 61 | 5,002 | $66,023 | $123,676 | $23,086 |
| Master's | 23 | 1,177 | $77,878 | $139,677 | $34,671 |
| Certificate | 13 | 0 | $63,433 | $91,117 | $22,799 |
| Level 99 | 11 | 0 | $70,256 | $92,485 | - |
| Doctoral | 8 | 170 | $84,599 | $132,306 | $97,300 |
| Graduate Certificate | 6 | 443 | $158,788 | $309,352 | $73,685 |
| First Professional | 4 | 480 | $126,526 | $172,943 | $161,366 |
Top programs at University of Iowa by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Advanced/Graduate Dentistr…
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences
$309,352 median earnings
- Dentistry
Dentistry
$172,943 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$139,677 median earnings
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$132,306 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$132,152 median earnings
- Finance and Financial Mana…
Finance and Financial Management Services
$131,086 median earnings
- Allied Health Diagnostic, …
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
$129,316 median earnings
- Allied Health Diagnostic, …
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
$128,962 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.
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL
22,170 students · 94 apart
University of California-Riverside
Riverside, CA
22,593 students · 329 apart
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, OK
22,734 students · 470 apart
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
Stillwater, OK
21,773 students · 491 apart
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Public institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County
Scranton, PA
$22,521 net price · $10 apart
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT
$22,499 net price · $32 apart
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine
Media, PA
$22,585 net price · $54 apart
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL
$22,420 net price · $111 apart
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 is the acceptance rate at University of Iowa? ▼
University of Iowa is a public institution in Iowa City, Iowa. The acceptance rate is 83.6%. The average SAT score is 1,200. Undergraduate enrollment is 22,264 students.
How much do University of Iowa former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at University of Iowa who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $64,762 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $52,696.
How much does University of Iowa cost? ▼
The average net price at University of Iowa is $22,531. In-state tuition is $11,283 and out-of-state tuition is $33,371. Median student debt at graduation is $22,500.
What is the graduation rate at University of Iowa? ▼
University of Iowa has a 73.9% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 90.4%.
Is University of Iowa worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at University of Iowa is $22,500, while former students earn a median of $64,762 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 35% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 79.4% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $239.
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 University of Iowa
- Compare University of Iowa 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.