Graduates of Iowa State University earn median earnings of $68,277 four years after enrollment, placing Iowa State University in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $4,512 more than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 74.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Iowa State University #343 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Iowa State University's strength in applied and technical fields. Engineering is the dominant program family, accounting for 23% of degrees, followed by Business at 19% and Education at 4%. Mechanical Engineering combines large cohort scale with strong earnings, making it a central driver of the university's overall return profile. Azimuth ranks Business Administration #77 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology, with 418 graduates earning median earnings of $78,304 — 1.1x the national benchmark for the field. The Mechanical Engineering program graduates 406 students with median earnings of $85,938, and Azimuth ranks Digital Marketing #113 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 300 graduates earning $66,482. Computer Engineering and Animal Sciences round out the top programs, with Azimuth ranking them #41 and #18 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, respectively.
Graduates of Iowa State University earn median earnings of $68,277 four years after enrollment, placing Iowa State University in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $4,512 more than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 74.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Iowa State University #343 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Iowa State University's strength in applied and technical fields. Engineering is the dominant program family, accounting for 23% of degrees, followed by Business at 19% and Education at 4%. Mechanical Engineering combines large cohort scale with strong earnings, making it a central driver of the university's overall return profile. Azimuth ranks Business Administration #77 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology, with 418 graduates earning median earnings of $78,304 — 1.1x the national benchmark for the field. The Mechanical Engineering program graduates 406 students with median earnings of $85,938, and Azimuth ranks Digital Marketing #113 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 300 graduates earning $66,482. Computer Engineering and Animal Sciences round out the top programs, with Azimuth ranking them #41 and #18 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, respectively.
Latest FE earnings field: 10-year
How graduate earnings grow across the currently available FE horizons.
Financial justification for the investment.
Graduates of Iowa State University earn median earnings of $68,277 four years after enrollment, placing Iowa State University in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $4,512 more than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 74.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Iowa State University #343 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Iowa State University's strength in applied and technical fields. Engineering is the dominant program family, accounting for 23% of degrees, followed by Business at 19% and Education at 4%. Mechanical Engineering combines large cohort scale with strong earnings, making it a central driver of the university's overall return profile. Azimuth ranks Business Administration #77 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology, with 418 graduates earning median earnings of $78,304 — 1.1x the national benchmark for the field. The Mechanical Engineering program graduates 406 students with median earnings of $85,938, and Azimuth ranks Digital Marketing #113 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 300 graduates earning $66,482. Computer Engineering and Animal Sciences round out the top programs, with Azimuth ranking them #41 and #18 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, respectively.
Program mix and student pathways explain much of the earnings story.
Iowa State University's program mix is anchored in Engineering, consistent with the university's land-grant research identity, but the portfolio extends well beyond a single discipline. Engineering accounts for 23% of graduates, Business accounts for 19%, and Education accounts for 4% — a balance of applied-technical and professional fields that shapes the institution's overall earnings profile. Across 83 programs serving roughly 6,791 students annually, 63 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold. The strongest earnings come from engineering and computing subfields. Azimuth ranks Computer Engineering #41 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 295 graduates earning $105,753. Azimuth ranks Mechanical Engineering #173 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $85,938, and Azimuth ranks Artificial Intelligence #108 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $83,267. Mechanical Engineering combines large cohort scale — 418 graduates — with median earnings of $78,304, making it the program that contributes the most aggregate economic value to the institution's graduate outcomes. The largest programs by enrollment reflect the breadth of the university's applied portfolio. The Mechanical Engineering program graduates 406 students with median earnings of $85,938, and the The Digital Marketing program graduates 300 students with median earnings of $66,482. Engineering and computing programs are high-mobility pathways where graduates enter the national labor market directly, while fields like Computer Engineering and Animal Sciences serve students whose four-year earnings may undercount lifetime trajectory if a meaningful share continue to graduate or professional school. The supply-demand map provides context for how Iowa State University's dominant program families align with national labor-market demand. ```
Lower quartile, 10-year field
Upper quartile, 10-year field
Graduates of Iowa State University earn median earnings of $68,277 four years after enrollment, placing Iowa State University in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band). Graduates earn about $4,512 more than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 74.6 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Iowa State University #343 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern reflects Iowa State University's strength in applied and technical fields. Engineering is the dominant program family, accounting for 23% of degrees, followed by Business at 19% and Education at 4%. Mechanical Engineering combines large cohort scale with strong earnings, making it a central driver of the university's overall return profile. Azimuth ranks Business Administration #77 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions per the program-ranking methodology, with 418 graduates earning median earnings of $78,304 — 1.1x the national benchmark for the field. The Mechanical Engineering program graduates 406 students with median earnings of $85,938, and Azimuth ranks Digital Marketing #113 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 300 graduates earning $66,482. Computer Engineering and Animal Sciences round out the top programs, with Azimuth ranking them #41 and #18 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, respectively.
