Tuition Trends for Iowa colleges Over Past 10 Years

There are 75 colleges in Iowa - 19 public and 56 private schools. The 2024 average tuition & fees of the 4-year colleges in Iowa is $10,396 for Iowa residents and $27,294 for out-of-state students. In private colleges, the average tuition & fees is $33,422. For Iowa community colleges, the average tuition & fees is $5,969 for state residents and $7,182 for out-of-state students.

Iowa public 4-year colleges' in-state tuition & fees decreased by 15.87% from $12,357 (2015) to $10,396 (2024) and out-of-state tuition & fees grew by 54.89% over the past decade from $17,621 (2015) to $27,294 (2024). In private Iowa colleges, the tuition & fees increased by 27.17%, from $26,065 (2015) to $33,148 (2024).

Compare Schools Iowa Statistics Show All Schools

Cost of Attendance (COA) Changes

Over the past 10 years, the COA has increased by 40.73% when living on campus and by 42.35% when living off campus at public Iowa colleges. For private Iowa colleges, the COA has increased by 25.06% (on-campus) and 26.25% (off-camus). The COA includes tuition, fees, books & supplies, room & board, and other personal expenses.

Cost of Attendance (COA) Changes of Iowa colleges
Year	Living On Campus			Living Off Campus
Year	In-State	Out-of-State	Private Schools	In-State	Out-of-State	Private Schools
2014-15	$24,774	$30,038	$38,482	$24,605	$29,869	$38,313
2015-16	$24,973 0.80%	$30,360 1.07%	$39,181 1.82%	$24,788 0.74%	$30,175 1.02%	$38,996 1.78%
2016-17	$25,543 2.28%	$31,061 2.31%	$40,918 4.43%	$25,077 1.17%	$30,595 1.39%	$40,452 3.73%
2017-18	$26,034 1.92%	$31,787 2.34%	$42,228 3.20%	$25,495 1.67%	$31,248 2.13%	$41,689 3.06%
2018-19	$25,865 -0.65%	$31,729 -0.18%	$43,134 2.15%	$25,291 -0.80%	$31,155 -0.30%	$42,560 2.09%
2019-20	$22,758 -12.01%	$39,236 23.66%	$44,190 2.45%	$22,620 -10.56%	$39,098 25.50%	$44,052 3.51%
2020-21	$22,944 0.82%	$39,422 0.47%	$44,407 0.49%	$22,680 0.27%	$39,158 0.15%	$44,143 0.21%
2021-22	$23,471 2.30%	$39,630 0.53%	$45,751 3.03%	$23,213 2.35%	$39,372 0.55%	$45,493 3.06%
2022-23	$24,258 3.35%	$40,791 2.93%	$46,832 2.36%	$24,158 4.07%	$40,691 3.35%	$46,732 2.72%
2023-24	$25,375 4.60%	$42,273 3.63%	$48,127 2.77%	$25,620 6.05%	$42,518 4.49%	$48,372 3.51%

Tuition & Fees Changes

For the current year (2024), the average tuition & fees for Iowa colleges is $10,396 for Iowa residents and $27,294 out-of-state students. In private schools, the average tuition & fees is $33,148.

For graduate programs, the 2024 average graduate tuition & fees is $13,923 for Iowa residents and $30,588 out-of-state students. In private schools, the average graduate program tuition & fees is $13,081.

The tuition & fees has increased 54.89% for undergraduate programs and 98.98% for graduate programs at Iowa colleges. The following table and chart illustrate the changes of tuition & fees by tuition rates and degrees.

Tuition & Fees Changes for Iowa colleges
Year	Undergraduate			Graduate
Year	In-State	Out-of-State	Private Schools	In-State	Out-of-State	Private Schools
2014-15	$12,357	$17,621	$26,065	$9,616	$14,578	$11,948
2015-16	$12,405 0.39%	$17,792 0.97%	$26,613 2.10%	$9,839 2.32%	$14,873 2.02%	$11,545 -3.37%
2016-17	$12,605 1.61%	$18,123 1.86%	$27,980 5.14%	$10,074 2.39%	$15,248 2.52%	$10,351 -10.34%
2017-18	$12,747 1.13%	$18,500 2.08%	$28,941 3.43%	$10,774 6.95%	$16,139 5.84%	$11,113 7.36%
2018-19	$12,363 -3.01%	$18,227 -1.48%	$29,632 2.39%	$11,168 3.66%	$16,627 3.02%	$12,016 8.13%
2019-20	$9,288 -24.87%	$25,766 41.36%	$30,720 3.67%	$11,029 -1.24%	$26,404 58.80%	$12,546 4.41%
2020-21	$9,287 -0.01%	$25,765 0.00%	$30,750 0.10%	$11,028 -0.01%	$25,403 -3.79%	$13,249 5.60%
2021-22	$9,543 2.76%	$25,702 -0.24%	$31,823 3.49%	$11,346 2.88%	$26,387 3.87%	$13,075 -1.31%
2022-23	$9,966 4.43%	$26,499 3.10%	$32,540 2.25%	$11,845 4.40%	$27,257 3.30%	$12,867 -1.59%
2023-24	$10,396 4.31%	$27,294 3.00%	$33,148 1.87%	$12,342 4.20%	$29,007 6.42%	$12,642 -1.75%

Iowa 4-Year Colleges Tuition & Fees Trend Chart

Iowa Graduate Schools Tuition & Fees Trend Chart

Books & Supplies Costs Changes

For the current year (2024), the average book & supplies costs is $1,095 for Iowa colleges. The following table shows the changes of book & supplies costs from year 2015 to 2024.

Books & Supplies Costs Changes for Iowa colleges
Year	Books & Supplies
2014-15	$1,097
2015-16	$1,121 2.19%
2016-17	$1,131 0.89%
2017-18	$1,166 3.09%
2018-19	$1,167 0.09%
2019-20	$1,140 -2.31%
2020-21	$1,131 -0.79%
2021-22	$1,132 0.09%
2022-23	$1,118 -1.24%
2023-24	$1,095 -2.06%

Living Costs Changes

For Iowa colleges, the living have increased 21.14% when a student lives on campus facilities and 22.57% when living off campus from year 2015 to 2024. The living costs includes costs for room & board, and other living expenses.

Living Costs Changes for Iowa colleges
Year	Living On Campus	Living Off Campus
2014-15	$11,320	$12,011
2015-16	$11,447 1.63%	$12,146 1.49%
2016-17	$11,807 4.22%	$12,353 2.99%
2017-18	$12,121 3.54%	$12,656 3.19%
2018-19	$12,335 2.14%	$12,857 2.15%
2019-20	$12,330 2.89%	$13,049 6.28%
2020-21	$12,526 2.29%	$13,247 1.01%
2021-22	$12,796 2.54%	$13,565 2.34%
2022-23	$13,174 2.77%	$13,973 4.56%
2023-24	$13,884 4.53%	$14,810 7.35%

Most Searched Iowa Colleges (last 30 days)

4-Year Colleges

Cornell College Private, four-years | Mount Vernon
Iowa State University Public, four-years | Ames
University of Iowa Public, four-years | Iowa City
Luther College Private, four-years | Decorah
Grinnell College Private, four-years | Grinnell
William Penn University Private, four-years | Oskaloosa
Loras College Private, four-years | Dubuque
Wartburg College Private, four-years | Waverly
Northwestern College Private, four-years | Orange City
Saint Ambrose University Private, four-years | Davenport

compare schools

Graduate

University of Iowa Public, four-years | Iowa City
University of Northern Iowa Public, four-years | Cedar Falls
Saint Ambrose University Private, four-years | Davenport
William Penn University Private, four-years | Oskaloosa
Palmer College of Chiropractic Private, four-years | Davenport
Drake University Private, four-years | Des Moines
University of Dubuque Private, four-years | Dubuque
Morningside University Private, four-years | Sioux City
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary Private, four-years | Ankeny
Graceland University-Lamoni Private, four-years | Lamoni

compare schools

Online Schools

Clarke University Private, four-years | Dubuque
Iowa State University Public, four-years | Ames
Des Moines Area Community College Public, 2-4 years | Ankeny
William Penn University Private, four-years | Oskaloosa
Loras College Private, four-years | Dubuque
University of Northern Iowa Public, four-years | Cedar Falls
Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical Center Private, four-years | West Des Moines
Briar Cliff University Private, four-years | Sioux City
Morningside University Private, four-years | Sioux City
Allen College Private, four-years | Waterloo

compare schools

Trade Schools

Carlson College of Massage Therapy Private, Less than 2-years | Anamosa
PCI Academy-Ames Private, 2-4 years | Ames
Capri College-Cedar Rapids Private, Less than 2-years | Cedar Rapids
The Salon Professional Academy-Cedar Falls Private, Less than 2-years | Cedar Falls
Aveda Institute-Des Moines Private, 2-4 years | West Des Moines
Capri College-Davenport Private, Less than 2-years | Davenport
Capri College-Dubuque Private, Less than 2-years | Dubuque
Ross College-Davenport Private, 2-4 years | Davenport
Allen College Private, four-years | Waterloo
Eastern Iowa Community College District Public, 2-4 years | Davenport

compare schools