---
title: Iowa State University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Ames, IA
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Iowa State University

Ames, IA · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $63,386 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $43,544 – $90,188 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $18,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 75% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $24,018 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 84% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.30× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $35,386 | derived |

**75% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $18,750 (≈ 30% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $22,091 to $99,120 across 81 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Industrial Engineering. | Master's Degree | $99,120 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $85,739 | $30,724 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $83,223 | $22,707 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $80,956 | $25,300 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Master's Degree | $77,649 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $74,299 | $25,020 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,598 | $23,750 |
| Construction Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,580 | $19,609 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,184 | $21,775 |
| Plant Sciences. | Master's Degree | $70,731 | not reported |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,534 | $20,136 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $69,976 | not reported |
| Animal Sciences. | Master's Degree | $68,147 | not reported |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,086 | $23,250 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,960 | $26,017 |
| Materials Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,475 | $23,000 |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Master's Degree | $65,986 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,842 | $22,822 |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,141 | $20,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $61,841 | not reported |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,647 | $23,250 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,277 | $24,477 |
| Agricultural Mechanization. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,856 | $19,500 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,910 | not reported |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Master's Degree | $55,723 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,771 | $22,276 |
| Agricultural Public Services. | Master's Degree | $51,533 | $20,177 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $51,079 | not reported |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,055 | $19,625 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,665 | $20,500 |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,768 | $30,474 |
| Food Science and Technology. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,538 | $23,530 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,423 | $21,250 |
| Landscape Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,898 | $29,400 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,736 | $21,650 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,032 | $15,000 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $45,872 | $20,500 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,450 | $20,199 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,875 | $21,500 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,779 | $17,039 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,285 | $24,246 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,681 | $21,560 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,011 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,888 | $17,750 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,315 | $24,781 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,738 | $22,529 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,633 | $23,125 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,426 | $24,250 |
| Forestry. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,406 | $18,750 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,447 | $18,730 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,232 | $16,875 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,622 | $25,490 |
| Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,468 | $16,029 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,065 | $26,581 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,025 | $20,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,457 | $19,500 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,828 | $20,500 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,690 | $22,763 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,620 | $22,250 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,205 | $19,876 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,913 | $23,250 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,790 | $26,768 |
| Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,650 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,510 | $23,599 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,251 | $21,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,633 | $22,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,074 | $23,204 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,963 | not reported |
| International Agriculture. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,292 | $21,500 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,078 | $20,080 |
| Genetics. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,438 | $21,631 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,313 | $18,950 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $29,045 | $22,505 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,014 | $14,718 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,217 | $19,125 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,611 | $22,375 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,485 | $21,500 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,131 | $26,500 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,309 | $23,250 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,287 | $18,546 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,091 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Iowa State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?153603

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/iowa-state-university-ia.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`