Best Community Colleges in Iowa 2025
The best community colleges provide an effective springboard into higher education, offering students high-quality two-year degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The top-rated community colleges in Iowa offer a broad selection of associate’s degrees, affordable tuition rates, and strong partnerships with public four-year schools so that students can easily transfer their credits into accredited bachelor’s degree programs.
Key Takeaways
- Iowa’s best community colleges often have strong partnerships with four-year universities, offering seamless transfer pathways that help students continue their education without losing credits.
- Many of the best community colleges in Iowa prioritize career and technical education programs, providing hands-on training for high-demand fields like healthcare, manufacturing, and information technology.
- The colleges in our ranking offer some of the most competitive tuition rates in the region, along with robust scholarship and grant opportunities, making higher education accessible to a diverse range of students.
10 Best Community Colleges in Iowa in 2025
- Iowa Central Community College +3
- Des Moines Area Community College +1
- Kirkwood Community College –1
- Ellsworth Community College +3
- Southeastern Community College +4
- Indian Hills Community College –5
- Iowa Western Community College +1
- Northeast Iowa Community College –3
- North Iowa Area Community College +2
- Southwestern Community College
2025 Ranking Update
Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.
In 2025, the top ten schools in our ranking of the best community colleges in Iowa saw a substantial amount of movement. Southeastern Community College gained the most ranking positions as the college is making significant improvements to enhance student opportunities and address regional workforce needs. A key development is the launch of a Radiologic Technology program in partnership with Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center, designed to prepare students for in-demand healthcare careers.
Additionally, SCC has outlined a five-year strategic plan focused on continuous improvement and aligning with state goals for community colleges. To support these enhancements, the college has implemented a modest $1 per credit hour increase in tuition and fees, ensuring sustainable growth while maintaining affordability. These initiatives demonstrate SCC’s commitment to quality education and workforce readiness.
We’ve identified 15 community colleges in Iowa. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in Iowa.
If you’re interested in an online associate degree, visit our best online associate degrees in Iowa page.
Best Community Colleges in Iowa
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
37%
Student body
7K
Career Outlook for degree at Iowa Central Community College
Cost of Degree: $5,376Expenses: $12,499Starting Salary: $38,400Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Iowa Central Community College known for?
Iowa Central Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Social Work
- Criminal Justice
- History
- Sociology
- Communications
- Medical
- Literature
- Mathematics
- Computer Science
- Engineering
Most Influential Alumni
- #4 Best Online Associate Degrees in Iowa 2024 #20 Best Online Associate in Entrepreneurship #24 Best Online Associate in Computer Science Degree Programs 2025
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
34%
Student body
33K
Career Outlook for degree at Des Moines Area Community College
Cost of Degree: $5,550Expenses: $11,358Starting Salary: $36,800Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Des Moines Area Community College known for?
Des Moines Area Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Physics
- Sociology
- Social Work
- Biology
- History
- Political Science
- Medical
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Communications
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
36%
Student body
17K
Career Outlook for degree at Kirkwood Community College
Cost of Degree: $5,980Starting Salary: $38,000What is Kirkwood Community College known for?
Kirkwood Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
29%
Student body
<1K
Career Outlook for degree at Ellsworth Community College
Cost of Degree: $5,304Expenses: $15,500Starting Salary: $35,500Cost Recoup Time: 11 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Ellsworth Community College known for?
Ellsworth Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
39%
Student body
3K
Career Outlook for degree at Southeastern Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,450Expenses: $17,556Starting Salary: $31,800Cost Recoup Time: 13 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Southeastern Community College known for?
Southeastern Community College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
36%
Student body
4K
Career Outlook for degree at Indian Hills Community College
Cost of Degree: $4,872Expenses: $14,688Starting Salary: $34,800Cost Recoup Time: 11 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Indian Hills Community College known for?
Indian Hills Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
36%
Student body
8K
Career Outlook for degree at Iowa Western Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,780Expenses: $15,110Starting Salary: $35,500Cost Recoup Time: 12 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Iowa Western Community College known for?
Iowa Western Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
49%
Student body
5K
Career Outlook for degree at Northeast Iowa Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,600Starting Salary: $36,000What is Northeast Iowa Community College known for?
Northeast Iowa Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
55%
Student body
3K
Career Outlook for degree at North Iowa Area Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,436Expenses: $11,370Starting Salary: $37,700Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is North Iowa Area Community College known for?
North Iowa Area Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
52%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Southwestern Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,510Expenses: $11,048Starting Salary: $34,100Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Southwestern Community College known for?
Southwestern Community College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
- #4 Best Online Associate in Game Development #7 Best Online Associate in Agribusiness Degree Programs 2025 #11 Best Online Associate Degrees in Iowa 2024 #25 Best Online Associate in Human Resources
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
42%
Student body
7K
Career Outlook for degree at Western Iowa Tech Community College
Cost of Degree: $5,042Expenses: $12,426Starting Salary: $34,200Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Western Iowa Tech Community College known for?
Western Iowa Tech Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
33%
Student body
6K
Career Outlook for degree at Hawkeye Community College
Cost of Degree: $6,308Starting Salary: $38,400What is Hawkeye Community College known for?
Hawkeye Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
39%
Student body
12K
Career Outlook for degree at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges
Cost of Degree: $4,680Expenses: $17,534Starting Salary: $33,600Cost Recoup Time: 12 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Eastern Iowa Community Colleges known for?
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
35%
Student body
2K
Career Outlook for degree at Marshalltown Community College
Cost of Degree: $5,304Expenses: $13,400Starting Salary: $32,800Cost Recoup Time: 11 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Marshalltown Community College known for?
Marshalltown Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
64%
Student body
3K
Career Outlook for degree at Northwest Iowa Community College
Cost of Degree: $7,110Expenses: $15,608Starting Salary: $48,000Cost Recoup Time: 10 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Northwest Iowa Community College known for?
Northwest Iowa Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
2021 Ranking Archive
Many of our 2024 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2023. That’s because we took a fundamentally different approach. For 2024 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.
- Indian Hills Community College
- Northeast Iowa Community College
- Southwestern Community College
- Kirkwood Community College
- Southeastern Community College
- Ellsworth Community College
- Des Moines Area Community College
- Iowa Central Community College
- Western Iowa Tech Community College
- Hawkeye Community College
- Marshalltown Community College
- North Iowa Area Community College
- Eastern Iowa Community Colleges
- Northwest Iowa Community College
- Iowa Western Community College
