Federal data
Highest earning registered nursing programs in Iowa
Iowa registered nursing programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luther College | Decorah | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $75,533 | 57 |
| 2 | Dordt University | Sioux Center | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $71,680 | 30 |
| 3 | Northwestern College | Orange City | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $71,479 | 36 |
| 4 | St Luke's College | Sioux City | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $71,064 | 54 |
| 5 | Upper Iowa University | Fayette | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $70,224 | 147 |
| 6 | University of Iowa | Iowa City | Public, 4-year | $69,368 | 261 |
| 7 | Morningside University | Sioux City | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $68,397 | 45 |
| 8 | Coe College | Cedar Rapids | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $67,769 | 35 |
| 9 | Graceland University-Lamoni | Lamoni | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $66,955 | 101 |
| 10 | Mount Mercy University | Cedar Rapids | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $66,647 | 176 |
| 11 | Mercy College of Health Sciences | Des Moines | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $66,309 | 264 |
| 12 | Saint Ambrose University | Davenport | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $66,151 | 122 |
| 13 | Allen College | Waterloo | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $65,924 | 65 |
| 14 | Grand View University | Des Moines | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $64,042 | 74 |
| 15 | Clarke University | Dubuque | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $62,676 | 53 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.