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2023 Best Value Trade School 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.
The Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa ranking is one of many tools that Trade College Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 26 schools in Iowa to see which programs offered the best value experiences for trade school students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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 Schools in Iowa
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Western Iowa Tech Community College to be the best value school for trade school students in Iowa. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Sioux City, Iowa. It awarded 1,848 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are $4,946 per year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwest Iowa Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. Located in Sheldon, Iowa, the small public school awarded 356 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Northwest Iowa Community College are $7,170 a year.
Northwest Iowa Community College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Trade Schools in Iowa list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Des Moines Area Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. DMACC is a large public school situated in Ankeny, Iowa. It awarded 4,028 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at DMACC are $10,680 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indian Hills Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. IHCC is a small public school situated in Ottumwa, Iowa. It awarded 735 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at IHCC are $6,120 a year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Iowa Community College District. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. Located in Davenport, Iowa, the medium-sized public school awarded 1,143 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges are $6,096 a year.
Hawkeye Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Hawkeye Community College is a small public school situated in Waterloo, Iowa. It awarded 925 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Hawkeye Community College are $6,583 a year.
Northeast Iowa Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa ranking. NICC is located in Calmar, Iowa and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 596 degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at NICC are $6,990 a year.
North Iowa Area Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa ranking. Mason City, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 903 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Iowa Area Community College are $8,884 per year.
Kirkwood Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #8 on the list. This fairly large public school is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it awarded 2,365 degrees in 2021-2022.
Kirkwood Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,604 in tuition and fees each year.
Marshalltown Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. Located in Marshalltown, Iowa, the small public school handed out 435 degrees in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Marshalltown Community College are $5,688 per year.
Southeastern Community College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. West Burlington, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 767 students in 2021-2022.
Southeastern Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,360 in tuition and fees each year.
Iowa State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #12 on the list. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 8,469 degrees to qualified students.
Iowa State undergraduate students pay an average of $26,617 in tuition and fees each year.
Iowa State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Trade Schools in Iowa list.
Iowa Central Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Fort Dodge, Iowa is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,134 students in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Iowa Central Community College are $7,398 a year.
University of Northern Iowa ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. UNI is a public institution located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 2,755 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at UNI are $20,565 a year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UNI is ranked #3 for overall quality in Iowa.
Iowa Western Community College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. Iowa Western Community College is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1,407 degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Iowa Western Community College are $6,690 a year.
University of Iowa landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 9,271 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $32,316 per year.
Waldorf University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. This small private for-profit school is located in Forest City, Iowa, and it awarded 919 degrees in 2021-2022.
Waldorf undergraduate students pay an average of $24,526 in tuition and fees each year.
Waldorf also took the #1 spot in our Best Trade Schools in Iowa rankings.
Iowa Lakes Community College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. Iowa Lakes Community College is located in Estherville, Iowa and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 311 degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa Lakes Community College are $7,452 per year.
Northwestern College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. NWC is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Orange City, Iowa. It awarded 523 degrees in 2021-2022.
NWC undergraduate students pay an average of $34,250 in tuition and fees each year.
NWC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Trade Schools in Iowa list.
Upper Iowa University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa ranking. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fayette, Iowa. It awarded 1,328 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at UIU are $33,639 a year.
Graceland University - Lamoni landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Lamoni, Iowa, and it awarded 459 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Graceland Lamoni are $31,970 a year.
Luther College ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. Luther is a private not-for-profit institution located in Decorah, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 499 degrees in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Luther are $48,160 a year.
Luther also claimed a spot on our Best Trade Schools in Iowa list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Mount Mercy University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students. It came in at #23 on the list. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 590 students in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mount Mercy are $37,606 per year.
University of Dubuque landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value trade school programs. University of Dubuque is a small private not-for-profit school located in Dubuque, Iowa that handed out 582 degrees in 2021-2022.
UD undergraduate students pay an average of $38,526 in tuition and fees each year.
Clarke University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Schools in Iowa list. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, the very small private not-for-profit school handed out 264 degrees in 2021-2022.
Clarke undergraduate students pay an average of $38,060 in tuition and fees each year.
Best Value Trade Schools in the Plains States Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 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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