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Iowa Colleges by the Numbers
30 four-year Iowa colleges — click any for its profile: acceptance rates, SAT ranges, tuition for all 30, with Iowa medians up top.
Iowa has 30 four-year colleges with full admissions profiles here — from Iowa State University at 25,367 undergraduates down to campuses a fraction of that size. The most selective door in the state is Grinnell College at 14.5% admitted; the most open is Loras College at 99.9%. Published in-state tuition runs from $9,936 at the cheapest campus to $68,106 at the most expensive — a $58,170 spread inside Iowa alone.
Iowa's ten-year earnings benchmark of $55,396 sits 3% above the national median for college-goers. In Iowa, 7 schools don't look at test scores at all, while 1 — Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary — still requires them.
Each Iowa school links to its profile — admissions, cost, earnings. To see where you stand in Iowa, bring your saved calculator numbers.
Iowa medians
| Acceptance rate | Tuition (in-state) | Median earnings (10 yr) | 6-yr graduation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80.1% | $36,684 | $55,396 | 63.8% |
Medians across 32 active bachelor's-degree institutions in Iowa; the table below lists the 30 with complete admissions records.
All Iowa colleges in our data
| College | City | Acceptance | SAT middle 50% | Tuition (in) | Undergrads | Median earnings (10 yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista University | Storm Lake | 77.6% | ACT 18–25 | $41,798 | 1,366 | $49,156 |
| Central College | Pella | 86.2% | 935–1205 | $20,988 | 1,070 | $54,317 |
| Clarke University | Dubuque | 71.8% | 890–1045 | $40,910 | 742 | $55,396 |
| Coe College | Cedar Rapids | 64% | 1080–1280 | $54,666 | 1,164 | $57,125 |
| Cornell College | Mount Vernon | 79.9% | 1150–1318 | $52,660 | 1,086 | $53,460 |
| Dordt University | Sioux Center | 68.5% | 1030–1230 | $37,050 | 1,597 | $52,559 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | 63.8% | 1190–1390 | $52,130 | 2,543 | $71,901 |
| Emmaus Bible College | Dubuque | 59.8% | 910–1060 | $20,800 | 224 | $42,631 |
| Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary | Ankeny | 67.5% | 940–1180 | $20,270 | 405 | $40,650 |
| Graceland University-Lamoni | Lamoni | 80.8% | not considered | $20,950 | 798 | $47,361 |
| Grand View University | Des Moines | 99.1% | not considered | $34,762 | 1,486 | $52,824 |
| Grinnell College | Grinnell | 14.5% | 1418–1550 | $68,106 | 1,729 | $62,830 |
| Iowa State University | Ames | 88.7% | 1110–1350 | $10,787 | 25,367 | $63,386 |
| Loras College | Dubuque | 99.9% | not considered | $39,824 | 1,083 | $58,289 |
| Luther College | Decorah | 71.5% | 1098–1318 | $52,120 | 1,379 | $59,850 |
| Maharishi International University | Fairfield | 95.7% | not considered | $16,530 | 922 | $27,981 |
| Mercy College of Health Sciences | Des Moines | 99.7% | — | $17,664 | 867 | $62,234 |
| Morningside University | Sioux City | 71% | ACT 12–22 | $39,660 | 1,163 | $55,494 |
| Mount Mercy University | Cedar Rapids | 82.5% | ACT 19–25 | $40,878 | 1,107 | $60,787 |
| Northwestern College | Orange City | 80.4% | not considered | $36,710 | 1,175 | $49,802 |
| Saint Ambrose University | Davenport | 77.3% | not considered | $36,658 | 1,916 | $59,531 |
| Simpson College | Indianola | 86.2% | ACT 31–33 | $47,656 | 1,227 | $59,274 |
| St Luke's College | Sioux City | 80% | ACT 16–19 | $24,175 | 167 | $61,033 |
| University of Dubuque | Dubuque | 88.6% | 950–1160 | $42,095 | 1,440 | $51,190 |
| University of Iowa | Iowa City | 83.6% | 1130–1320 | $11,283 | 22,264 | $64,762 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | 92.7% | 860–1210 | $9,936 | 7,529 | $55,177 |
| Upper Iowa University | Fayette | 96.5% | 970–1160 | $19,475 | 1,994 | $52,766 |
| Waldorf University | Forest City | 77% | not considered | $25,978 | 1,827 | $51,165 |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | 75.8% | 978–1235 | $26,250 | 1,452 | $56,201 |
| William Penn University | Oskaloosa | 51.9% | 830–1100 | $29,750 | 1,301 | $48,936 |
Scores shown are among students who submitted them; "not considered" schools ignore tests entirely. Wondering where your own numbers fit? TheGPA calculator andSAT score calculator give you the other half of this table.
Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Jun 2026), IPEDS ADM2023/HD2024. Retrieved 2026-09-01.