Find a Job You Really Want In
One of the biggest things that incoming college freshmen consider when they’re thinking about what school to attend is the likelihood that a school will improve their job prospects.
Jobs are hard to come by nowadays, after all, and the everyday expenses of living in a country like America aren’t cheap.
Compared to a lot of other states, Iowa has some unique advantages as far as attending college here goes. There are impressive research universities, quality state schools, and the ability to study majors that will prepare you well for the job market.
All that made us curious — with so many good colleges to attend in IA, which ones, in particular, were most likely to help their graduates land a job? Using data from IPEDS as well as College Scorecard as a baseline, we created this list of some of the best colleges for jobs in Iowa.
The full list can be found further down, but first, here’s a look at the top ten best colleges for jobs in Iowa:
- University of Dubuque
- Luther College
- Wartburg College
- Saint Ambrose University
- Drake University
- Central College
- University of Northern Iowa
- Northwestern College
- University of Iowa
- Buena Vista University
If you go to one of these schools, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.
But for the rest of you — keep reading and we’ll get to just why these schools have some of the best programs the state of Iowa has to offer.
How We Determined The Best Schools In Iowa For Jobs
Using the College Scorecard Data, we searched for the college in each state with the highest listed job placement ratings, looking specifically at employment levels at year 10 after students have graduated.
We limited the analysis to the 29 public and non-profit, four year institutions colleges in Iowa that offer at least a bachelors degree.
Then, we ranked each college from best to worst on the percentage of graduates with jobs. For the purposes of readability, each school’s rating was then rounded down to the last two decimal places.
The school with the highest percentage of grads with jobs, University of Dubuque, earned the distinction of being the ‘Best College For Jobs in Iowa.’
Best Colleges For Getting A Job In Iowa
| Rank | College | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Dubuque | 94.72% |
| 2 | Luther College | 94.58% |
| 3 | Wartburg College | 94.4% |
| 4 | Saint Ambrose University | 94.38% |
| 5 | Drake University | 94.3% |
| 6 | Central College | 94.21% |
| 7 | University of Northern Iowa | 93.99% |
| 8 | Northwestern College | 93.91% |
| 9 | University of Iowa | 93.72% |
| 10 | Buena Vista University | 93.41% |
| 11 | Loras College | 93.38% |
| 12 | Cornell College | 93.37% |
| 13 | Iowa State University | 93.29% |
| 14 | Simpson College | 93.29% |
| 15 | Briar Cliff University | 93.05% |
| 16 | Graceland University-Lamoni | 92.06% |
| 17 | Grand View University | 91.96% |
| 18 | Mercy College of Health Sciences | 91.67% |
| 19 | Morningside College | 91.61% |
| 20 | Mount Mercy University | 91.09% |
| 21 | Grinnell College | 90.79% |
| 22 | William Penn University | 90.72% |
| 23 | Iowa Wesleyan University | 90.07% |
| 24 | Upper Iowa University | 89.95% |
| 25 | Dordt College | 88.95% |
| 26 | Palmer College of Chiropractic | 85.49% |
| 27 | Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary | 81.03% |
| 28 | Emmaus Bible College | 74.4% |
| 29 | Maharishi University of Management | 69.66% |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
