Best Community Colleges in Iowa by Salary Potential
Land a career that will pay you back for your associate degree (and then some). Check out Iowa’s top two-year colleges with the highest-paid graduates.
| Rank | School Name | School Sector | Early Career Pay | Mid-Career Pay | % High Meaning | % STEM Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | School Name: Mercy College of Health Sciences | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$52,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$73,900 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:2 | School Name: Indian Hills Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$46,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$67,600 | % High Meaning:63% | % STEM Degrees:4% |
| Rank:3 | School Name:Northwest Iowa Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$46,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$67,200 | % High Meaning:68% | % STEM Degrees:3% |
| Rank:4 | School Name: William Penn University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$45,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$66,700 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:10% |
| Rank:5 | School Name: Iowa Western Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$43,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$64,900 | % High Meaning:59% | % STEM Degrees:2% |
| Rank:6 | School Name: Des Moines Area Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$42,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$64,000 | % High Meaning:53% | % STEM Degrees:4% |
| Rank:7 | School Name:Iowa Central Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$43,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$63,900 | % High Meaning:58% | % STEM Degrees:2% |
| Rank:8 | School Name:North Iowa Area Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$39,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$63,200 | % High Meaning:62% | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:9 | School Name:Northeast Iowa Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$43,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$63,100 | % High Meaning:62% | % STEM Degrees:2% |
| Rank:10 | School Name:Eastern Iowa Community College District | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$41,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$62,900 | % High Meaning:63% | % STEM Degrees:3% |
| Rank:11 | School Name: Kirkwood Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$43,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$62,800 | % High Meaning:59% | % STEM Degrees:9% |
| Rank:12 | School Name:Southwestern Community College (Iowa) | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$43,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$62,000 | % High Meaning:53% | % STEM Degrees:5% |
| Rank:13 | School Name:Ellsworth Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$42,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$61,500 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:0% |
| Rank:13 | School Name: Western Iowa Tech Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$41,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$61,500 | % High Meaning:60% | % STEM Degrees:6% |
| Rank:15 | School Name:Iowa Lakes Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$40,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$60,900 | % High Meaning:58% | % STEM Degrees:1% |
| Rank:16 | School Name: Upper Iowa University | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$41,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$60,100 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:2% |
| Rank:17 | School Name:Southeastern Community College (Iowa) | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$41,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$58,000 | % High Meaning:58% | % STEM Degrees:3% |
| Rank:18 | School Name:Marshalltown Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$41,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$57,600 | % High Meaning:64% | % STEM Degrees:2% |
| Rank:19 | School Name: Hawkeye Community College | School Sector:Public | Early Career Pay:$40,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$56,600 | % High Meaning:53% | % STEM Degrees:2% |
| Rank:20 | School Name:Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary | School Sector:Private not-for-profit | Early Career Pay:$38,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$54,400 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:0% |
Curious about the best 2-year colleges in Iowa by graduate salaries? The Hawkeye state has strong employment options in biotechnology, agriculture, manufacturing and finance/insurance industries.
The largest associate degree granting institution in our Iowa database is Ashford University, with nearly 50,000 undergraduates. (High-performing public colleges, like Indian Hills Community College, Western Iowa Tech Community College and Iowa Western Community College are all under 8,000 undergraduate students.)
Three of the lowest median mid-career salaries for associate degree holders in Iowa come from alumni of private colleges: Kaplan University in Davenport, Ashford University and the AIB College of Business. Kaplan and Ashford are for-profit colleges.