Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa · Public

Of 94 assessed programs, 92 leave graduates out-earning a typical Iowa high-school graduate (about $37,130/yr) and 2 fall short. Another 231 could not be assessed.

What would this cost you?

My family earns and I expect to take

Family income	Net price per year
Under $30k	$10,582
$30k to $48k	$11,506
$48k to $75k	$15,463
$75k to $110k	$19,605
$110k and up	$22,496
All families (average)	$18,589

Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, by family income (College Scorecard). It reflects students who received federal aid.

Program earnings vs a high-school graduate

Earnings are measured four years after completion when available. Where four-year earnings are suppressed, one-year earnings are shown and marked 1-year earnings. One-year and four-year figures reflect different career stages and should not be compared as if measured at the same time.

94 of 325 programs could be assessed 29% have an earnings verdict

Programs by earnings versus a typical Iowa high-school graduate.
Program	Degree	Median earnings	vs a high-school grad	Verdict	Median debt	Years to repay	Recent completers
Business Administration	Bachelor's Degree	$78,304	+$41,174	clears the bar	$20,500	0.5 yrs	418
Mechanical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$85,938	+$48,808	clears the bar	$22,822	0.5 yrs	406
Marketing	Bachelor's Degree	$66,482	+$29,352	clears the bar	$21,500	0.7 yrs	300
Computer Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$105,753	+$68,623	clears the bar	$23,750	0.3 yrs	295
Animal Sciences	Bachelor's Degree	$51,644	+$14,514	clears the bar	$20,500	1.4 yrs	241
Finance	Bachelor's Degree	$75,360	+$38,230	clears the bar	$19,625	0.5 yrs	225
Design	Bachelor's Degree	$52,671	+$15,541	clears the bar	$26,581	1.7 yrs	221
Kinesiology and Physical Education	Bachelor's Degree	$60,059	+$22,929	clears the bar	$23,204	1.0 yrs	217
Psychology	Bachelor's Degree	$49,286	+$12,156	clears the bar	$21,000	1.7 yrs	217
Computer and Information Science	Bachelor's Degree	$83,267	+$46,137	clears the bar	$22,452	0.5 yrs	195
Biology	Bachelor's Degree	$53,447	+$16,317	clears the bar	$22,375	1.4 yrs	193
Teacher Education (by level)	Bachelor's Degree	$47,462	+$10,332	clears the bar	$22,529	2.2 yrs	186
Agricultural Business and Management	Bachelor's Degree	$67,529	+$30,399	clears the bar	$15,000	0.5 yrs	166
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$94,089	+$56,959	clears the bar	$26,017	0.5 yrs	158
Veterinary Medicine	First Professional Degree	$111,742	+$74,612	clears the bar	$138,980	1.9 yrs	152
Accounting	Bachelor's Degree	$70,706	+$33,576	clears the bar	$22,276	0.7 yrs	150
Industrial Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$92,914	+$55,784	clears the bar	$23,250	0.4 yrs	132
Criminal Justice	Bachelor's Degree	$61,166	+$24,036	clears the bar	$19,500	0.8 yrs	132
Chemical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$92,773	+$55,643	clears the bar	$20,136	0.4 yrs	123
Civil Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$85,427	+$48,297	clears the bar	$24,477	0.5 yrs	122
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	Bachelor's Degree	$39,143	+$2,013	clears the bar	$21,500	10.7 yrs	118
Hospitality Management	Bachelor's Degree	$55,491	+$18,361	clears the bar	$20,000	1.1 yrs	116
Public Relations and Advertising	Bachelor's Degree	$62,965	+$25,835	clears the bar	$23,125	0.9 yrs	109
Electrical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$99,705	+$62,575	clears the bar	$25,020	0.4 yrs	104
Apparel and Textiles	Bachelor's Degree	$60,349	+$23,219	clears the bar	$21,560	0.9 yrs	100
Computer Science	Bachelor's Degree	$104,211	+$67,081	clears the bar	$21,775	0.3 yrs	96
Engineering-Related Fields	Bachelor's Degree	$82,548	+$45,418	clears the bar	$23,250	0.5 yrs	93
Plant Sciences	Bachelor's Degree	$60,997	+$23,867	clears the bar	$17,039	0.7 yrs	89
Human Development and Family Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$46,253	+$9,123	clears the bar	$20,080	2.2 yrs	86
Natural Resources and Conservation	Bachelor's Degree	$51,387	+$14,257	clears the bar	$19,125	1.3 yrs	78
Architectural Sciences and Technology	Bachelor's Degree	$57,928 1-year earnings	+$20,798	clears the bar	$31,000	1.5 yrs	78
Agricultural Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$88,576	+$51,446	clears the bar	$20,750	0.4 yrs	78
Teacher Education (by subject)	Bachelor's Degree	$52,622	+$15,492	clears the bar	$17,750	1.1 yrs	71
Construction Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$100,676	+$63,546	clears the bar	$19,609	0.3 yrs	71
Liberal Arts and General Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$54,889	+$17,759	clears the bar	$26,768	1.5 yrs	70
Mathematics	Bachelor's Degree	$62,261	+$25,131	clears the bar	$21,650	0.9 yrs	66
Communications and Media	Bachelor's Degree	$57,110	+$19,980	clears the bar	$16,875	0.8 yrs	65
Political Science	Bachelor's Degree	$57,752	+$20,622	clears the bar	$22,250	1.1 yrs	65
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	Bachelor's Degree	$54,391	+$17,261	clears the bar	$18,546	1.1 yrs	50
History	Bachelor's Degree	$52,934	+$15,804	clears the bar	$22,000	1.4 yrs	50
English	Bachelor's Degree	$49,626	+$12,496	clears the bar	$23,599	1.9 yrs	49
Genetics	Bachelor's Degree	$55,037	+$17,907	clears the bar	$21,631	1.2 yrs	45
Materials Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$83,416	+$46,286	clears the bar	$23,000	0.5 yrs	44
Agricultural Mechanization	Bachelor's Degree	$78,890	+$41,760	clears the bar	$19,500	0.5 yrs	41
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	Bachelor's Degree	$46,374 1-year earnings	+$9,244	clears the bar	$20,750	2.2 yrs	41
Statistics	Bachelor's Degree	$72,581	+$35,451	clears the bar	$22,875	0.6 yrs	39
Economics	Bachelor's Degree	$75,355	+$38,225	clears the bar	$21,250	0.6 yrs	39
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	Bachelor's Degree	$63,026	+$25,896	clears the bar	$18,950	0.7 yrs	37
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	Bachelor's Degree	$61,697	+$24,567	clears the bar	$24,246	1.0 yrs	35
Biology	Master's Degree	$28,875 1-year earnings	-$8,255	falls short	$22,505	insufficient data	35
Journalism	Bachelor's Degree	$53,633	+$16,503	clears the bar	$23,250	1.4 yrs	32
Chemistry	Bachelor's Degree	$66,486	+$29,356	clears the bar	$20,199	0.7 yrs	32
International Agriculture	Bachelor's Degree	$56,405	+$19,275	clears the bar	$21,500	1.1 yrs	31
Food Science and Technology	Bachelor's Degree	$65,943	+$28,813	clears the bar	$23,530	0.8 yrs	31
Forestry	Bachelor's Degree	$52,650	+$15,520	clears the bar	$18,750	1.2 yrs	31
Sociology	Bachelor's Degree	$55,714	+$18,584	clears the bar	$19,876	1.1 yrs	31
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	Bachelor's Degree	$61,173	+$24,043	clears the bar	$24,250	1.0 yrs	29
Plant Sciences	Master's Degree	$116,149	+$79,019	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	28
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	Bachelor's Degree	$49,875	+$12,745	clears the bar	$22,763	1.8 yrs	28
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	Bachelor's Degree	$40,726	+$3,596	clears the bar	$23,250	6.5 yrs	27
Accounting	Master's Degree	$92,050	+$54,920	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	27
Chemistry	Doctoral Degree	$70,782 1-year earnings	+$33,652	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	26
Architectural Sciences and Technology	Master's Degree	$66,778	+$29,648	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	25
Design	Master's Degree	$35,702 1-year earnings	-$1,428	falls short	insufficient data	insufficient data	25
Anthropology	Bachelor's Degree	$43,443	+$6,313	clears the bar	$26,500	4.2 yrs	24
Civil Engineering	Master's Degree	$95,102	+$57,972	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	23
Nutrition Sciences	Bachelor's Degree	$53,933	+$16,803	clears the bar	$14,718	0.9 yrs	21
Physics	Bachelor's Degree	$52,786	+$15,656	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	18
Geology and Earth Science	Bachelor's Degree	$65,204	+$28,074	clears the bar	$24,781	0.9 yrs	16
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	Master's Degree	$58,434 1-year earnings	+$21,304	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$69,673	+$32,543	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Visual and Performing Arts, General	Bachelor's Degree	$39,403	+$2,273	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	Bachelor's Degree	$51,531	+$14,401	clears the bar	$18,730	1.3 yrs	14
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$62,341	+$25,211	clears the bar	$16,029	0.6 yrs	13
Business/Managerial Economics	Bachelor's Degree	$93,379	+$56,249	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Agricultural Public Services	Master's Degree	$60,737	+$23,607	clears the bar	$20,177	0.9 yrs	11
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	Master's Degree	$79,527	+$42,397	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Agricultural Engineering	Master's Degree	$87,824	+$50,694	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Industrial Engineering	Master's Degree	$139,590	+$102,460	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Statistics	Master's Degree	$130,131	+$93,001	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Area Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$61,860	+$24,730	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Medical Illustration and Informatics	Bachelor's Degree	$49,493	+$12,363	clears the bar	$22,059	1.8 yrs	9
English	Master's Degree	$37,246 1-year earnings	+$116	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Food Science and Technology	Master's Degree	$60,183 1-year earnings	+$23,053	clears the bar	$18,203	0.8 yrs	6
Education	Doctoral Degree	$79,098 1-year earnings	+$41,968	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Interdisciplinary Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$54,064	+$16,934	clears the bar	$25,490	1.5 yrs	5
Education	Master's Degree	$60,708	+$23,578	clears the bar	$20,500	0.9 yrs	1
Allied Health Diagnostics and Treatment	Bachelor's Degree	$44,892	+$7,762	clears the bar	$27,000	3.5 yrs	1
Architecture	Bachelor's Degree	$69,310	+$32,180	clears the bar	$30,474	0.9 yrs	0
Electrical Engineering	Master's Degree	$136,132	+$99,002	clears the bar	$30,724	0.3 yrs	0
Business Administration	Master's Degree	$123,109	+$85,979	clears the bar	$22,707	0.3 yrs	0
Management Information Systems	Bachelor's Degree	$87,413	+$50,283	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Landscape Architecture	Bachelor's Degree	$61,364	+$24,234	clears the bar	$29,400	1.2 yrs	insufficient data
Mechanical Engineering	Master's Degree	$106,245	+$69,115	clears the bar	$25,300	0.4 yrs	insufficient data
Computer and Information Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	129
Educational Administration	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	56
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	51
Computer Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	46
Human Computer Interaction	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	46
Management Science	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	45
Engineering Mechanics	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	40
Education	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	39
Engineering Mechanics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	39
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	32
Biomedical Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	31
Sustainability Studies	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	26
Computer Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	24
Biomedical Engineering	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	22
Statistics	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	19
Philosophy	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	$20,985	insufficient data	19
Civil Engineering	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	18
Physics	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	18
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	18
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	16
Computational Science	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	16
Animal Sciences	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Business Administration	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Finance	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
IT Administration and Management	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	14
Chemical Engineering	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	14
Industrial Engineering	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Educational Administration	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Teacher Education (by subject)	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Engineering-Related Fields	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Physics	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Psychology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Computer Science	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Intelligence, Command Control and Information Operations	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Nursing	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
International Business	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Plant Sciences	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Teacher Education (by level)	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Agricultural Engineering	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Human Computer Interaction	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Economics	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Economics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Geography and Cartography	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Chemical Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Apparel and Textiles	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Music	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Hospitality Management	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Management Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Systems Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians measured four years after completion where available (programs shown with a 1-year figure are marked), compared with the state high-school-graduate benchmark ($37,130/yr). Debt is federal loans only. Suppressed values are shown as insufficient data, never imputed. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise.