College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Northern Iowa

IAMedium public institution · Overall rank #435 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Northern Iowa #435 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

The University of Northern Iowa is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where Education and Business are the largest program families. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. The model attributes part of the gap to the factors it measures, which adds, and part to a remainder it cannot explain, which subtracts.

Affordability is well above average, and what families at the bottom of the income scale pay sits well below the published cost. Pell students complete below the overall rate, and that gap coexists with a mobility that is the strongest of the four.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to education should know it is the largest program but not the best-paid one.

University of Northern Iowa at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
92.7%
Six-year completion[2]
67.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$54,830

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,099
Median student debt[4]
$19,691
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$17,670

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

University of Northern Iowa is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, enrolling 7,529 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University of Northern Iowa admits 92.7% of applicants, a rate above the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Retention runs above the peer median: 81.7% of first-year students return, against a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 67.9%, well above the peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 33.4% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four pillars sit far apart. Mobility is the strongest, and affordability is also strong.

Return and access are the weaker pillars, sitting near the middle of the field. The shape is a broad-access public campus where the strongest pillar is mobility and the weakest is return, with affordability and access between them.

University of Northern Iowa's strongest pillar is mobility, in the 84th percentile. Azimuth ranks the university #435 overall among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Affordability follows in the 77th percentile, while the access pillar sits in the 46th percentile. The return pillar is the weakest, in the 45th percentile.

Pell Grants go to 27.4% of undergraduates at this public university. Among enrolled students who submitted SAT scores, the middle 50% landed between 1,020 and 1,280; the comparable ACT span is 19 to 26.

For Pell recipients, the six-year completion rate is 61.6%, a figure that sits 6.3 percentage points below the completion rate for the entering cohort as a whole (67.9%). Azimuth ranks University of Northern Iowa #795 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Mobility is the strongest pillar at this campus. The university sits at #233 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,253 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of Northern Iowa rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#435

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 84
Access & reach
National percentile: 46
Affordability
National percentile: 77
Return on investment
National percentile: 45

Top-ranked majors

  1. Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians#13
  2. Real Estate#13
  3. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies#23

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 Northern Iowa briefing

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

The University of Northern Iowa publishes a cost of attendance of $22,278, which includes in-state tuition of $9,936 and room and board of $9,986. Out-of-state students see a higher tuition of $21,712.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients falls to $15,901 — a reduction of $6,377 from the sticker total. That runs above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,833.

Azimuth ranks the university #319 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 29% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $7,843. For families in the lowest band, the average net price is $10,863.

The University of Northern Iowa publishes a cost of attendance of $22,278, with in-state tuition and fees at $9,936 and room and board at $9,986. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—is $10,863 for families earning under $30,000, $14,099 for the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $18,706 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,843. Azimuth ranks the university #319 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 29% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $6,377 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $15,901, which sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,833.

Out-of-state students see a published tuition of $21,712, and their net price after aid may differ from the in-state averages shown here. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $19,691.

That median is below the peer median of $21,229 by $1,538, and 91.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $17,670.

The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $224 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,099

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Northern Iowa

Most undergraduates at University of Northern Iowa borrow: 91.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For those who complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $19,691.

That median is below the peer median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,538. Parent borrowers, a separate population, hold a median Parent PLUS loan of $17,670.

The investment picture at University of Northern Iowa is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $54,830 four years after completion, in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure is $2,471 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $4,253 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 39th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $44,875 in a downside case to $80,814 in an upside case, with $54,830 as the typical outcome. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $19,691, which is $1,538 below the peer median of $21,229.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $224 a month if repaid over ten years. The return is below what the model expects, but the debt load is lighter than at comparable schools.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $17,670. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $224.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$19,691
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$17,670

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$224/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$225/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 Northern Iowa briefing

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

The return pillar at University of Northern Iowa sits in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That makes it the weakest of the university's four pillars.

Graduates earn about $4,253 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 39th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,793.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $11,046. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $77.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $54,830, in the 32nd percentile nationally. That is below the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $2,471.

The earnings picture is mixed: the median sits below the peer benchmark. The model finds a shortfall relative to similar students, though the program mix itself adds to expected earnings.

University of Northern Iowa reports a median of $54,830 four years after completion among 2,732 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that figure in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That is $2,471 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The earnings-beyond-expectations metric is the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for comparable students.

Graduates earn about $4,253 less than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $44,875 on the downside to $80,814 on the upside, with typical earnings at $54,830. An estimated 27.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $54,830, at the 32nd percentile nationally. That is $2,471 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks University of Northern Iowa #803 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,253 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 39th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,793.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $11,046. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $77.

The program mix tilts toward education and business, and the earnings scenarios estimated from that mix show the spread. The downside earnings scenario sits at $44,875, while the upside reaches $80,814.

An estimated 27.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios at the University of Northern Iowa span from a downside of $44,875 to an upside of $80,814. That spread reflects the variation across the university's 40 programs with earnings data four years after completion.

The highest-earning programs illustrate the upper end of that range: Computer Science completers earn a median of $89,305 four years after completion, Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians completers reach $87,580, and Construction Management completers earn $85,688.

The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree at University of Northern Iowa is $19,691. That runs below the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $224. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $17,670.

The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—for first-time full-time aid recipients is $15,901, which is above the peer median of $14,068. Graduates earn about $4,253 less than the model expects for similar students.

Lower debt coincides with earnings that fall short of the model's expectation, so the return picture is mixed.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,793
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$11,046
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$4,253

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 Northern Iowa briefing

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

The University of Northern Iowa admits 92.7% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
92.7%
Approximate lower endpoint
1020
Reported average
1122
Approximate upper endpoint
1280

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 Northern Iowa briefing

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

The University of Northern Iowa's program mix is anchored by Business and Education, which together account for nearly half of all bachelor's degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where completers earn a median of $89,305 four years after completion, though it awarded only 33 degrees.

Among the larger programs, Finance awarded 141 degrees and shows median earnings of $81,172, with an Azimuth national rank of #79. Business Administration and Management reached $74,838 on 134 degrees awarded.

By contrast, Teacher Education, the largest program with 372 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $45,885, illustrating the earnings spread across the university's most popular fields.

University of Northern Iowa has 27 nationally ranked bachelor's programs. The university publishes earnings data for 40 fields.

The strongest national showing belongs to Real Estate, ranked #13 nationally, with 42 degrees awarded and a median of $83,592 four years after completion. Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians ranks #13 nationally and #1 in Iowa, with 35 degrees awarded.

Its completers earn a median of $87,580 four years after completion. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies is ranked #23 nationally and #2 in Iowa, with 27 degrees awarded.

Those graduates earn a median of $48,506 four years after completion. Construction Management ranks #25 nationally and awards 39 degrees, with a median of $85,688 four years after completion.

The bachelor's degrees at University of Northern Iowa are spread across two main families: Business accounts for 24.9% of degrees awarded, and Education is close behind at 23.0%. Social Sciences is a distant third at 5.4%.

Azimuth ranks 27 of the university's programs, and 40 have published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Teacher Education, with 372 degrees awarded, followed by Finance at 141 and Business Administration and Management at 134.

The highest-ranked program is Real Estate, which Azimuth places #1 in Iowa, with 42 degrees awarded. Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians ranks #13 nationally and #1 in Iowa, with 35 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $89,305 four years after completion, though it is a smaller program at 33 degrees awarded. Finance, the second-largest program, has earnings of $81,172 and ranks #79 nationally within its field.

The largest programs in education and business award the most degrees. The highest earnings and highest program ranks are in fields like Computer Science and Real Estate, which award far fewer degrees. Across all fields, 9.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 372 degrees awarded
$45,885
Finance and Financial Management Services 141 degrees awarded
$81,172
Business Administration, Management and Operations 134 degrees awarded
$74,838
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 125 degrees awarded
$50,144
Psychology, General 111 degrees awarded
$53,829
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 90 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

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 Northern Iowa briefing

How does University of Northern Iowa serve students from different backgrounds?

The University of Northern Iowa earns its strongest pillar in mobility. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 67.9%, and Pell recipients complete at 61.6% — below the overall rate by 6.3 percentage points. Both completion figures sit well above the peer median of 49.1%.

Graduates earn about $4,253 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 39th percentile nationally. Completion rates outpace the peer median, while earnings lag expectations.

The University of Northern Iowa enrolls 7,529 undergraduates in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 46th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The public university admits 92.7% of applicants, and Pell Grant recipients account for 27.4% of the undergraduate body. An estimated 33.4% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / University of Northern Iowa briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Northern 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 Northern Iowa.

Admissions peerUniversity of Dubuque88.6% admitted
Comparison with University of Northern Iowa
MeasureUniversity of Northern IowaUniversity of Dubuque
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,830$59,598+$4,768 vs University of Northern Iowa
Average annual net price$15,901$23,386+$7,485 vs University of Northern Iowa · higher cost
Admission rate92.7%88.6%
Nearby alternativeLoras CollegeNearby option · IA
Comparison with University of Northern Iowa
MeasureUniversity of Northern IowaLoras College
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,830$55,860+$1,030 vs University of Northern Iowa
Average annual net price$15,901$20,716+$4,815 vs University of Northern Iowa · higher cost
Admission rate92.7%99.9%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell$81,163 earnings
Comparison with University of Northern Iowa
MeasureUniversity of Northern IowaUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,830$81,163+$26,333 vs University of Northern Iowa
Average annual net price$15,901$17,163+$1,262 vs University of Northern Iowa · higher cost
Admission rate92.7%83.0%
Explore University of Massachusetts-Lowell →
Lower-cost alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois$2,835 average net price
Comparison with University of Northern Iowa
MeasureUniversity of Northern IowaTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,830$51,985-$2,845 vs University of Northern Iowa
Average annual net price$15,901$2,835-$13,066 vs University of Northern Iowa · lower cost
Admission rate92.7%100.0%
Similar profileYoungstown State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Northern Iowa
MeasureUniversity of Northern IowaYoungstown State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,830$56,047+$1,217 vs University of Northern Iowa
Average annual net price$15,901$12,767-$3,134 vs University of Northern Iowa · lower cost
Admission rate92.7%84.5%
Explore Youngstown State University →

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