2023 Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 14 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for trade school students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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Top Value Trade Associate Degree Schools in Iowa
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Eastern Iowa Community College District the best value school in Iowa for trade school students working on their associate degree. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a medium-sized public school situated in Davenport, Iowa. It awarded 823 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges undergraduate students pay an average of $6,096 in tuition and fees each year. On average, associate degree students take out $16,472 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2020-2021 about 44% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Indian Hills Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in Ottumwa, Iowa, the small public school awarded 528 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at IHCC are $6,120 a year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,730 in student loans.
IHCC does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 36% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwest Iowa Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in Sheldon, Iowa, the small public school awarded 211 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
Northwest Iowa Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,170 in tuition and fees each year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $11,532 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Northwest Iowa Community College does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2020-2021 year, about 66% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Northwest Iowa Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kirkwood Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. This fairly large public school is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it awarded 1,628 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kirkwood Community College are $7,604 per year. On average, associate degree students take out $16,030 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Kirkwood Community College. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 59% took at least some of their classes online.
Kirkwood Community College also made our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #5.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Des Moines Area Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in Ankeny, Iowa, the large public school awarded 2,010 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
DMACC undergraduate students pay an average of $10,680 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $12,641 in student loans.
Some students may be able to take online classes at DMACC. In fact, around 50% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Hawkeye Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree trade school programs. This small public school is located in Waterloo, Iowa, and it awarded 596 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Hawkeye Community College are $6,583 per year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $17,358 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Online courses are available at Hawkeye Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 44% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Hawkeye Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list.
Western Iowa Tech Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in Sioux City, Iowa, the medium-sized public school awarded 479 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,946 a year. On average, associate degree students take out $14,028 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at Western Iowa Tech Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 78% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #8, Northeast Iowa Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. Located in Calmar, Iowa, the small public school handed out 368 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
NICC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,990 in tuition and fees each year.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at NICC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 43% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
NICC also made our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #4.
With a ranking of #9, Iowa Central Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. Iowa Central Community College is located in Fort Dodge, Iowa and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 812 associate degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Iowa Central Community College are $7,398 a year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $18,497 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that Iowa Central Community College does offer online classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 26% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Southeastern Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list. Southeastern Community College is a small public school located in West Burlington, Iowa that handed out 388 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeastern Community College are $6,360 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,369 in student loans.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Southeastern Community College. During the 2020-2021 year, about 55% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #11, Iowa Western Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. This medium-sized public school is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and it awarded 797 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Iowa Western Community College are $6,690 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $16,474 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Iowa Western Community College does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 63% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
North Iowa Area Community College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree trade school programs. Located in Mason City, Iowa, the small public school awarded 511 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
North Iowa Area Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,884 in tuition and fees each year. On average, associate degree students take out $11,718 in loans while pursuing their degree.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at North Iowa Area Community College. During the 2020-2021 year, about 83% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Marshalltown Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. This small public school is located in Marshalltown, Iowa, and it awarded 206 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Marshalltown Community College are $5,688 per year. On average, associate degree students take out $14,363 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Marshalltown Community College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2020-2021 year, about 67% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Waldorf University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Associate Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Waldorf University is a small private for-profit school located in Forest City, Iowa that handed out 116 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Waldorf undergraduate students pay an average of $24,526 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $15,988 in student loans.
Waldorf does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In 2020-2021 about 69% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Waldorf not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Associate Degree Trade Schools in Iowa list.
Best Value Trade Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 14 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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