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Best Value Degrees in Iowa (2026)

Top 100 of 364 programs in Iowa · Updated 2026

The best college programs in Iowa, ranked by overall value. We scored 364 programs across Iowa schools on earnings, AI resilience, job demand, and tuition ROI. The top programs average $62,965/yr in graduate earnings.

Programs in IA

364

Avg Earnings (Top 100)

$62,965/yr

Avg DW Score

71/100

#1 Program

Computer Science

Iowa State University

Top Programs in Iowa

Top 100 programs by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full analysis.

#	Program	DW Score	Earnings	AI Risk	ROI
1	Computer Science Iowa State University · Ames, IA	88 81–89	$78,517/yr	Very High	24.9x
2	Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	87 83–87	$70,324/yr	Very High	21.0x
3	Computer Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	85 79–87	$79,182/yr	Very High	25.5x
4	Computer Science University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	85 78–86	$65,960/yr	Very High	24.1x
5	Accounting and Related Services University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	84 81–86	$65,373/yr	Very High	19.7x
6	Finance and Financial Management Services University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	83 81–84	$59,965/yr	Very High	19.4x
7	Computer and Information Sciences, General University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	82 76–83	$60,199/yr	Very High	18.8x
8	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	82 80–81	$69,368/yr	High	15.8x
9	Accounting and Related Services University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	82 79–84	$61,088/yr	Very High	19.9x
10	Finance and Financial Management Services Iowa State University · Ames, IA	80 77–81	$56,974/yr	Very High	17.0x
11	Construction Management University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	80 78–81	$68,698/yr	High	20.6x
12	Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Drake University · Des Moines, IA	79 74–79	$80,044/yr	Very High	4.9x
13	Accounting and Related Services Iowa State University · Ames, IA	79 76–81	$58,479/yr	Very High	16.5x
14	Finance and Financial Management Services University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	78 75–79	$52,759/yr	Very High	17.5x
15	Electrical Iowa State University · Ames, IA	77 73–78	$84,913/yr	Very High	24.6x
16	Economics Iowa State University · Ames, IA	77 73–78	$57,619/yr	Very High	18.3x
17	Business Administration Iowa State University · Ames, IA	77 71–78	$57,188/yr	High	17.6x
18	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Upper Iowa University · Fayette, IA	77 75–77	$70,224/yr	High	9.3x
19	Computer Science Grinnell College · Grinnell, IA	76 69–77	$84,449/yr	Very High	3.7x
20	Construction Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	76 74–78	$77,845/yr	High	21.7x
21	Aerospace Iowa State University · Ames, IA	75 72–75	$75,036/yr	High	21.0x
22	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Mercy College of Health Sciences · Des Moines, IA	75 74–75	$66,309/yr	High	9.6x
23	Business Administration University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	75 68–75	$51,690/yr	High	17.1x
24	Chemical Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	74 71–75	$76,184/yr	High	21.9x
25	Electrical University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	74 71–76	$70,686/yr	Very High	24.2x
26	Economics University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	74 70–75	$50,223/yr	Very High	17.1x
27	Business Administration University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	74 68–75	$46,264/yr	High	17.5x
28	Computer Science Luther College · Decorah, IA	74 67–75	$63,760/yr	Very High	4.8x
29	Economics University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	74 70–75	$49,314/yr	Very High	18.5x
30	Civil Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	73 71–75	$72,502/yr	High	19.5x
31	Mechanical Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	73 70–75	$72,900/yr	Very High	20.1x
32	Chemical Engineering University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	73 70–74	$75,340/yr	High	19.7x
33	Industrial Engineering University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	73 71–74	$75,699/yr	High	20.5x
34	Accounting and Related Services Central College · Pella, IA	72 68–73	$58,850/yr	Very High	7.9x
35	Computer and Information Sciences, General Drake University · Des Moines, IA	72 66–73	$69,835/yr	Very High	3.6x
36	Finance and Financial Management Services Drake University · Des Moines, IA	72 70–74	$62,049/yr	Very High	4.0x
37	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Graceland University-Lamoni · Lamoni, IA	72 71–72	$66,955/yr	High	5.1x
38	Industrial Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	72 70–73	$74,310/yr	High	20.0x
39	Civil Engineering University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	72 70–74	$70,313/yr	High	18.4x
40	Mechanical Engineering University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	72 70–74	$71,732/yr	Very High	18.7x
41	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Allen College · Waterloo, IA	71 69–71	$65,924/yr	High	7.0x
42	Accounting and Related Services Drake University · Des Moines, IA	71 68–72	$65,922/yr	Very High	3.5x
43	Computer Engineering University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	71 65–73	$79,228/yr	Very High	17.1x
44	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Saint Ambrose University · Davenport, IA	71 70–71	$66,151/yr	High	4.5x
45	Public Administration Upper Iowa University · Fayette, IA	71 67–72	$61,104/yr	High	9.0x
46	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Morningside University · Sioux City, IA	70 68–69	$68,397/yr	High	3.8x
47	Management Information Systems and Services University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	70 63–72	$58,197/yr	Very High	22.1x
48	Agricultural Business and Management Iowa State University · Ames, IA	69 62–70	$53,967/yr	High	15.4x
49	Computer and Information Sciences, General Iowa State University · Ames, IA	69 63–70	$60,397/yr	Very High	13.4x
50	Materials Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	69 68–70	$65,831/yr	High	19.9x
51	Engineering-Related Fields Iowa State University · Ames, IA	69 66–69	$62,416/yr	High	17.5x
52	Mathematics University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	69 64–71	$60,612/yr	Very High	16.0x
53	Allied Health Diagnostic University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	69 68–68	$61,373/yr	Moderate	14.4x
54	Human Resources Management and Services University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	69 63–70	$52,945/yr	High	16.1x
55	Marketing University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	69 63–70	$52,895/yr	Very High	16.3x
56	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Luther College · Decorah, IA	69 66–68	$75,533/yr	High	2.7x
57	Accounting and Related Services Luther College · Decorah, IA	69 66–71	$60,068/yr	Very High	3.5x
58	Industrial Production Technologies University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	69 69–69	$69,122/yr	Moderate	20.7x
59	Agricultural Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	68 66–68	$72,376/yr	High	17.5x
60	Accounting and Related Services Loras College · Dubuque, IA	68 64–69	$61,147/yr	Very High	3.9x
61	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Mount Mercy University · Cedar Rapids, IA	68 66–68	$66,647/yr	High	3.6x
62	Accounting and Related Services Saint Ambrose University · Davenport, IA	68 65–70	$56,691/yr	Very High	4.4x
63	Fire Protection Waldorf University · Forest City, IA	68 64–68	$97,731/yr	Moderate	8.9x
64	Accounting and Related Services Coe College · Cedar Rapids, IA	67 64–69	$59,252/yr	Very High	3.1x
65	Teacher Education Iowa State University · Ames, IA	67 68–68	$47,559/yr	High	12.1x
66	Mathematics Iowa State University · Ames, IA	67 62–69	$51,422/yr	Very High	16.9x
67	Biomedical/Medical Engineering University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	67 65–68	$58,144/yr	High	19.4x
68	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration St Luke's College · Sioux City, IA	67 64–67	$71,064/yr	High	7.5x
69	Accounting and Related Services Simpson College · Indianola, IA	67 64–68	$60,717/yr	Very High	3.2x
70	Business Administration Upper Iowa University · Fayette, IA	67 61–67	$55,854/yr	High	7.8x
71	Business Administration Central College · Pella, IA	66 60–67	$55,760/yr	High	7.1x
72	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration University of Dubuque · Dubuque, IA	66 65–66	$66,628/yr	High	3.2x
73	Accounting and Related Services Grand View University · Des Moines, IA	66 63–68	$56,692/yr	Very High	4.3x
74	Marketing Iowa State University · Ames, IA	66 60–67	$48,304/yr	Very High	15.3x
75	Marketing University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	66 60–67	$48,990/yr	Very High	16.3x
76	Accounting and Related Services Wartburg College · Waverly, IA	66 63–68	$61,529/yr	Very High	2.9x
77	Finance and Financial Management Services Buena Vista University · Storm Lake, IA	65 63–66	$52,226/yr	Very High	3.6x
78	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Dordt University · Sioux Center, IA	65 62–65	$71,680/yr	High	3.2x
79	Accounting and Related Services University of Dubuque · Dubuque, IA	65 62–67	$51,359/yr	Very High	3.8x
80	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Grand View University · Des Moines, IA	65 64–65	$64,042/yr	High	3.7x
81	Food Science and Technology Iowa State University · Ames, IA	65 60–65	$60,351/yr	Moderate	14.2x
82	Finance and Financial Management Services Loras College · Dubuque, IA	65 63–67	$59,434/yr	Very High	3.5x
83	Accounting and Related Services Mount Mercy University · Cedar Rapids, IA	65 61–66	$52,486/yr	Very High	3.7x
84	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Northwestern College · Orange City, IA	65 62–65	$71,479/yr	High	4.1x
85	Accounting and Related Services Upper Iowa University · Fayette, IA	65 62–67	$54,152/yr	Very High	6.7x
86	Finance and Financial Management Services Upper Iowa University · Fayette, IA	65 63–66	$48,860/yr	Very High	7.1x
87	Human Resources Management and Services Waldorf University · Forest City, IA	65 61–66	$77,897/yr	High	6.5x
88	Business Administration Saint Ambrose University · Davenport, IA	64 58–64	$60,163/yr	High	3.9x
89	Business Administration Briar Cliff University · Sioux City, IA	63 58–64	$55,784/yr	High	4.0x
90	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Clarke University · Dubuque, IA	63 62–63	$62,676/yr	High	3.0x
91	Registered Nursing & Nursing Administration Coe College · Cedar Rapids, IA	63 61–63	$67,769/yr	High	2.3x
92	Business/Commerce, General Mount Mercy University · Cedar Rapids, IA	63 58–63	$57,572/yr	High	3.5x
93	Real Estate University of Northern Iowa · Cedar Falls, IA	63 58–64	$56,866/yr	High	17.0x
94	Finance and Financial Management Services Grand View University · Des Moines, IA	62 60–63	$51,299/yr	Very High	3.7x
95	Architecture Iowa State University · Ames, IA	62 61–63	$54,957/yr	High	15.7x
96	Teacher Education Iowa State University · Ames, IA	62 67–63	$45,512/yr	High	10.9x
97	Teacher Education University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA	62 67–63	$45,015/yr	High	10.7x
98	Business Administration Drake University · Des Moines, IA	61 55–62	$47,806/yr	High	3.1x
99	Agricultural Mechanization Iowa State University · Ames, IA	61 58–61	$63,321/yr	Moderate	16.4x
100	Bilingual & Multilingual Iowa State University · Ames, IA	61 64–61	$48,052/yr	High	10.4x

Methodology

This ranking includes the top 100 programs at Iowa colleges and universities, drawn from 364 total programs with earnings data. Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score (0–100), which combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and tuition ROI.

Only in-state tuition is used for ROI calculations. Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best college program in Iowa?

By DegreeWorth Score, Computer Science at Iowa State University ranks #1 in Iowa with a score of 88/100 and graduate earnings of $78,517/yr.

How many college programs are in Iowa?

Our database includes 364 programs across Iowa colleges with reported earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.