Graduates of Northwestern College earn median 4-year earnings of $55,312, placing the institution in the 30.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,336 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Northwestern College in the 22.5 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Northwestern College #1004 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern centers on education and teaching-adjacent fields, reflecting the institution's dominant program family. Teacher Education is the largest program with 49 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $47,640, performing at 1.0× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The Kinesiology program graduates 28 students earning $51,829, and the The Business Administration program graduates 27 students earning $68,565. These programs anchor Northwestern College's economic profile, with outcomes reflecting the stable, in-demand nature of education and related professional pathways.
Graduates of Northwestern College earn median 4-year earnings of $55,312, placing the institution in the 30.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,336 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Northwestern College in the 22.5 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Northwestern College #1004 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern centers on education and teaching-adjacent fields, reflecting the institution's dominant program family. Teacher Education is the largest program with 49 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $47,640, performing at 1.0× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The Kinesiology program graduates 28 students earning $51,829, and the The Business Administration program graduates 27 students earning $68,565. These programs anchor Northwestern College's economic profile, with outcomes reflecting the stable, in-demand nature of education and related professional pathways.
Latest FE earnings field: 10-year
Lower quartile, 10-year field
How graduate earnings grow across the currently available FE horizons.
Financial justification for the investment.
Graduates of Northwestern College earn median 4-year earnings of $55,312, placing the institution in the 30.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,336 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Northwestern College in the 22.5 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Northwestern College #1004 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern centers on education and teaching-adjacent fields, reflecting the institution's dominant program family. Teacher Education is the largest program with 49 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $47,640, performing at 1.0× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The Kinesiology program graduates 28 students earning $51,829, and the The Business Administration program graduates 27 students earning $68,565. These programs anchor Northwestern College's economic profile, with outcomes reflecting the stable, in-demand nature of education and related professional pathways.
Program mix and student pathways explain much of the earnings story.
Northwestern College's program mix is anchored in education and the liberal arts — a signature shaped by the institution's identity as a private, faith-affiliated college in rural Iowa. Teacher Education is the largest program with 49 graduates, followed by Kinesiology, Business Administration, Nursing, and Accounting. Education represents the dominant concentration, reflecting the college's historical strength in teacher preparation and educational leadership. The earnings pattern across Northwestern College's programs reflects the outcomes typical of education-focused institutions. Nursing leads with median earnings of $71,322 four years after enrollment, followed by Business Administration at $68,565, Accounting at $59,192, Kinesiology at $51,829, and Teacher Education at $47,640. The highest-earning programs tend to cluster in business and applied fields, while education-pathway majors — which form the institutional core — deliver solid, stable earnings aligned with regional demand for teachers and educational professionals. Several of Northwestern College's programs represent grad-school-dependent pathways, particularly those in education and liberal arts disciplines where many graduates continue into master's programs or professional credentials. Others, such as business and applied professional fields, are high-mobility direct-to-workforce pathways where four-year earnings reflect immediate labor-market outcomes. The supply and demand for college graduates provides context for how the college's dominant program families align with regional and national labor-market trends, particularly in education and professional services sectors.
Upper quartile, 10-year field
Graduates of Northwestern College earn median 4-year earnings of $55,312, placing the institution in the 30.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,336 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing Northwestern College in the 22.5 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Northwestern College #1004 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern centers on education and teaching-adjacent fields, reflecting the institution's dominant program family. Teacher Education is the largest program with 49 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $47,640, performing at 1.0× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The Kinesiology program graduates 28 students earning $51,829, and the The Business Administration program graduates 27 students earning $68,565. These programs anchor Northwestern College's economic profile, with outcomes reflecting the stable, in-demand nature of education and related professional pathways.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
