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

# University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, 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 | $55,177 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $40,595 – $72,594 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $16,486 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 68% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $22,278 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 82% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.30× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $27,177 | derived |

**68% 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 $16,486 (≈ 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 $8,800 to $64,521 across 45 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,521 | $18,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $63,778 | $27,038 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,668 | $19,829 |
| Gerontology. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,361 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,120 | $22,770 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $54,675 | $29,955 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,358 | $17,169 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,320 | $22,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,695 | $18,750 |
| Mathematics. | Master's Degree | $52,377 | not reported |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,123 | $18,770 |
| Real Estate. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,372 | $20,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $49,319 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,934 | $17,500 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,222 | $16,661 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $46,191 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $43,106 | $25,795 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,929 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $40,868 | $32,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,744 | $22,500 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,371 | $17,692 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $39,330 | $13,250 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,627 | $23,200 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,176 | $19,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,882 | $16,562 |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,795 | $25,335 |
| Criminology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,892 | $20,278 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,800 | $21,965 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,792 | $19,900 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,672 | $21,668 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,089 | $20,625 |
| Graphic Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,933 | $19,184 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,840 | $20,720 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,558 | $18,625 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,498 | $20,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,930 | $15,388 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,997 | $20,625 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,786 | $24,000 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,128 | $20,700 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,106 | $22,500 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,830 | $18,750 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,766 | $19,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,615 | $19,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,551 | $21,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $8,800 | $17,537 |

## 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 University of Northern Iowa by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?154095

---

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