College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Iowa

IALarge public institution · Overall rank #184 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Iowa #184 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Iowa is a public university in Iowa City, Iowa, where the degree mix is led by Business and Parks, Recreation & Fitness. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes that gain to the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment and the local labor market—while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from it.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is among the highest we track. Affordability is modestly below average, and the spread between what the lowest and highest income bands pay is modest.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and the largest programs span business, health, and parks, recreation and fitness. A student drawn to the largest departments should know that the best-paid programs are in engineering and statistics, not the ones that award the most degrees.

University of Iowa at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
83.6%
Six-year completion[2]
74.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$69,866

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,930
Median student debt[4]
$22,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$27,975

University of Iowa rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

22,264 undergraduates attend University of Iowa, a public university in Iowa City, Iowa, where the institution places near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (88th percentile). At University of Iowa, 83.6% of applicants receive an offer of admission, exceeding the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

First-year retention reaches 90.4%, above the 83.1% peer median. The six-year graduation rate stands at 74.6%, which exceeds the 65.0% peer median, though this figure counts only first-time, full-time students.

An estimated 17.5% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so many did not start here. Mobility sits highest among the four (at the 91st percentile), while affordability is the lowest (at the 43rd percentile).

Return remains strong (at the 84th percentile), and access falls nearer the middle (at the 59th percentile). The four pillars are spread across the distribution, with the strongest and weakest sitting far apart.

Azimuth places University of Iowa in the 91st percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions, reflecting the strongest pillar. The return pillar also performs well, landing in the 84th percentile.

Access sits near the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions at the 59th percentile, and affordability is the weakest of the four at the 43rd percentile. That distance between the top and bottom percentiles shows where the university's Azimuth profile is most uneven.

Undergraduates receiving Pell Grants make up 18.4% of the student body. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,130 and 1,330, and the middle 50% of submitted ACT scores fell between 21 and 28.

For access, Azimuth places University of Iowa at #600 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 61.4% within six years, a level that sits 13.2 percentage points below the overall entering-cohort rate (74.6%).

Azimuth ranks the university #128 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,015 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

University of Iowa rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#184

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 91
Access & reach
National percentile: 59
Affordability
National percentile: 43
Return on investment
National percentile: 84

Top-ranked majors

  1. English Language and Literature/Letters, Other#3
  2. Statistics#9
  3. Criminology#10

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Iowa briefing

University of Iowa cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at University of Iowa is $28,596, with in-state tuition and fees of $11,283 and room and board of $12,920. Out-of-state students face tuition and fees of $33,371.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,531. Financial aid reduces the published cost by $6,065 on average.

That net price is $6,897 above the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #802 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University of Iowa publishes a cost of attendance of $28,596, with in-state tuition and fees at $11,283 and room and board at $12,920. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $15,316, rising to $19,930 for the $48,001–$75,000 band and $26,266 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,950. Azimuth ranks the university #802 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 21% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $6,065 against the sticker price. The across all aid recipients is $22,531, which sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,897.

Out-of-state students face a higher published tuition of $33,371. Federal student loan borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median debt of $22,500, and about 90.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

That median is above the peer median of $20,076 by $2,424. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month.

Parents who borrow through the federal Parent PLUS program carry a separate median of $27,975.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,930

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Iowa

Most undergraduates at the University of Iowa take federal loans, and the median federal student debt for those who complete a degree is $22,500. That median sits above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,424.

A separate population of parent borrowers carries a median Parent PLUS loan of $27,975.

At University of Iowa, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $69,866 four years after completing a degree. That figure sits in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $7,015 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the result at the 77th percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $50,641 on the downside to $89,839 on the upside, with $69,866 as the typical outcome. Borrowers who finish hold a median of $22,500 in federal student loans.

That amount is $2,424 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $27,975. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $256.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$22,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$27,975

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$256/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$355/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of Iowa briefing

University of Iowa career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $69,866. That is $4,256 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and sits at the 76th percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the university at the 84th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,015 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 77th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,042. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,027.

Graduates of University of Iowa earn about $7,015 more than the model expects for similar students, a gap that places the university in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion reach $69,866, which is above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings cohort includes 5,215 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, show a typical outcome of $69,866, a downside scenario of $50,641, and an upside scenario reaching $89,839.

An estimated 27.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median earnings sit in the 76th percentile nationally.

Earnings that run ahead of the model and a median that clears the peer benchmark point in the same direction for graduates of this public university.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of Iowa earn a median of $69,866, which places the university in the 76th percentile nationally. That figure is above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,256.

Graduates earn about $7,015 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 77th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,042.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,027. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,087.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $50,641 and an upside of $89,839. Azimuth ranks the university #229 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university's program-level results show a mix of high-volume and high-earning fields. The largest program, Kinesiology and Physical Education, awarded 511 degrees and shows median earnings of $61,732 four years after completion, ranking #30 nationally in its field.

Finance, with 379 degrees awarded, leads the large programs in earnings at $88,229 and ranks #53 nationally. The highest-earning program overall is Statistics, where graduates earn a median of $123,676, which is 1.34x the national median for the field.

Statistics stands out for its combination of strong earnings and a top national rank: graduates earn $123,676, or 1.34x the national median, and the program ranks #9 nationally.

The earnings scenarios at University of Iowa span from a downside of $50,641 to an upside of $89,839 four years after completion. That range reflects the variation in outcomes across the university's 49 programs with published data.

The highest-earning programs illustrate the upper end of that spread: Statistics completers earn a median of $123,676, Chemical Engineering graduates reach $97,329, and Electrical Engineering completers earn $97,208.

The value case at University of Iowa rests on the tension between solid earnings and an affordability pillar that sits at the 43rd percentile, the weakest of the four. Graduates earn about $7,015 more than the model expects for similar students, and the median of $69,866 four years after completion runs above the peer median.

The published cost of attendance is $28,596. After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest income band pay an average of $15,316, while the highest band pays $26,266, a spread of $10,950.

Net prices by band are averages; individual packages vary. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $22,500 in federal loans, $2,424 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the estimated payment is $256 a month. Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $27,975.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,042
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$3,027
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$7,015

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / University of Iowa briefing

University of Iowa acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Iowa admits 83.6% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 31,454 applicants, 25,131 admitted students, and 5,561 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
83.6%
Approximate lower endpoint
1130
Reported average
1200
Approximate upper endpoint
1330

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Iowa briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Iowa?[12]

The University of Iowa's largest programs span a wide earnings range, from higher-earning fields to those closer to the national median. Finance, with 379 degrees awarded, shows a median of $88,229 four years after completion and an Azimuth national rank of #53.

Marketing follows at $81,994 on 234 degrees, ranking #39 nationally. On the moderate-earning side, Kinesiology and Physical Education awards the most degrees at 511 and earns a median of $61,732, with an Azimuth national rank of #30.

Business Administration and Management reaches $67,605 on 245 degrees and ranks #169. The spread illustrates the earnings range across these fields.

University of Iowa publishes earnings data for 49 bachelor's programs, 45 of which hold an Azimuth national rank. The largest program, Kinesiology and Physical Education, awarded 511 degrees, ranks #30 nationally, and shows a median of $61,732 four years after completion.

Finance awarded 379 degrees, ranks #53 nationally, and its completers earn a median of $88,229, the highest among the five largest programs. Several programs hold top national ranks.

English Language and Literature/Letters sits at #3 with 134 degrees awarded and a median of $40,434. Statistics ranks #9 with 29 degrees awarded and a median of $123,676.

Marketing, also among the largest programs with published earnings, ranks #39 nationally with 234 degrees awarded and a median of $81,994.

Business accounts for 23.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded at University of Iowa, with Parks, Recreation & Fitness next at 10.3% and Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies third at 8.6%. The university has 45 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 49 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest program with published earnings is Kinesiology and Physical Education, at 511 degrees awarded a year, followed by Finance at 379 and Business Administration and Management at 245. English Language and Literature/Letters is the highest-ranked program, awarding 134 degrees a year with median earnings of $40,434 four years after completion.

Statistics is the highest-earning program, with a median of $123,676 from 29 degrees awarded. Statistics shows a benchmark ratio of 1.34x against the national median for its field, with median earnings of $123,676.

Finance, the second-largest program, ranks #53 nationally and #1 in Iowa within its field. Strength is spread across several fields rather than concentrated in one.

The largest programs in business and health fields post solid earnings, while smaller programs in engineering and statistics lead on pay. The highest-ranked programs in the social sciences and humanities sit alongside more modest four-year earnings, a pattern that coincides with fields where graduates often continue to graduate study.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 511 degrees awarded
$61,732
Finance and Financial Management Services 379 degrees awarded
$88,229
Behavioral Sciences 315 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Business Administration, Management and Operations 245 degrees awarded
$67,605
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 240 degrees awarded
$78,836
Marketing 234 degrees awarded
$81,994

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / University of Iowa briefing

How does University of Iowa serve students from different backgrounds?

University of Iowa's strongest pillar is mobility, which sits in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The first-time full-time cohort graduates at a rate of 74.6%, while Pell recipients complete at 61.4%, a level that sits 13.2 percentage points below the overall rate.

Graduates earn about $7,015 more than the model expects for similar students, a performance in the 77th percentile for earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. Solid completion and align with the university's mobility standing.

University of Iowa is a public university in Iowa City, Iowa, that admits 83.6% of applicants and enrolls 22,264 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients, a measure of financial access, make up 18.4% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 17.5% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / University of Iowa briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Iowa?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with University of Iowa.

Admissions peerWartburg College75.8% admitted
Comparison with University of Iowa
MeasureUniversity of IowaWartburg College
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,866$58,373-$11,493 vs University of Iowa
Average annual net price$22,531$32,908+$10,377 vs University of Iowa · higher cost
Admission rate83.6%75.8%
Higher-admission alternativeBaker University94.2% admitted
Comparison with University of Iowa
MeasureUniversity of IowaBaker University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,866$69,904+$38 vs University of Iowa
Average annual net price$22,531$25,301+$2,770 vs University of Iowa · higher cost
Admission rate83.6%94.2%
Nearby alternativeSaint Ambrose UniversityNearby option · IA
Comparison with University of Iowa
MeasureUniversity of IowaSaint Ambrose University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,866$67,026-$2,840 vs University of Iowa
Average annual net price$22,531$24,691+$2,160 vs University of Iowa · higher cost
Admission rate83.6%77.3%
Higher-earnings alternativeCapitol Technology University$104,028 earnings
Comparison with University of Iowa
MeasureUniversity of IowaCapitol Technology University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,866$104,028+$34,162 vs University of Iowa
Average annual net price$22,531$22,102-$429 vs University of Iowa · lower cost
Admission rate83.6%74.4%
Explore Capitol Technology University →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville$16,032 average net price
Comparison with University of Iowa
MeasureUniversity of IowaUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,866$70,899+$1,033 vs University of Iowa
Average annual net price$22,531$16,032-$6,499 vs University of Iowa · lower cost
Admission rate83.6%89.4%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Platteville →
Similar profileUniversity of KansasMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Iowa
MeasureUniversity of IowaUniversity of Kansas
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,866$69,680-$186 vs University of Iowa
Average annual net price$22,531$18,059-$4,472 vs University of Iowa · lower cost
Admission rate83.6%93.5%
Explore University of Kansas →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings