Best Community Colleges in Iowa 2023
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.
10 Best Community Colleges in Iowa
- Kirkwood Community College 18 to 1
- Hawkeye Community College 17 to 1
- Ellsworth Community College 16 to 1
- Southwestern Community College 14 to 1
- Southeastern Community College 15 to 1
- Ellsworth Community College 16 to 1
- Hawkeye Community College 17 to 1
Colleges and Universities in Iowa
With a large number of both brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Iowa, students have plenty of great schools to choose from.
Iowa’s largest public university, Iowa State University, serves over 30,000 students and offers extra flexibility for both undergraduate and graduate students through a selection of online degree programs in more than 50 academic fields including business administration, psychology, computer science, and more.
The University of Iowa-home of the Hawkeyes-is also home to some of the nation’s top programs in literature, philosophy, and law. The University of Iowa has also been at the forefront of higher education, starting the nation’s first co-educational medical school, as well as being the first public school to grant a law degree to a woman, Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson, in 1873.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
For prospective students hoping to obtain their degrees at a smaller school, Iowa offers over 40 options to choose from. For a more affordable option, students can pay $4,000 per year for tuition at Indian Hills Community College. Like most community colleges in Georgia, Indian Hills also offers an array of online programs.
At the other end of the spectrum, students will pay up to $52,000 for an academic year at Grinnell College. Furthermore, nearly half of the schools in Iowa are religiously affiliated.
Iowa is often recognized for its agriculture as it produces the most pork and corn in the nation. Equally noteworthy is Iowa’s wealth of one-of-a-kind roadside attractions. From the largest wooden nickel, to the crookedest street, to the Grotto of Redemption, The Hawkeye State is full of wonders. Students in search of curiosities and oddities while earning a degree can attend one of Iowa’s public or private colleges.
Whether you’re looking to earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, Iowa offers a wealth of on-campus and online learning options. Discover more about Iowa’s top brick-and-mortar and online programs as well as top career paths in the state of Iowa.
What are Iowa’s Colleges & Universities?
- 5 Research Universities
- 23 Liberal Arts Colleges & Universities
- 6 Graduate Schools
- 4 Public Colleges & Universities
- 24 Private Colleges & Universities
- 19 Christian Colleges & Universities
- 24 Small Colleges & Universities (fewer than 5,000 students)
- 4 Affordable Colleges (below $20,000/year)
- 15 Community Colleges
- Best Online Colleges
Iowa’s Best Overall
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
41%
Student body
2K
What is Indian Hills Community College known for?
Indian Hills Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
37%
Student body
8K
What is Kirkwood Community College known for?
Kirkwood Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Criminal Justice
- Computer Science
- Political Science
- Mathematics
- Chemistry
- Sociology
- Medical
- Social Work
- Psychology
- Physics
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
32%
Student body
13K
What is Des Moines Area Community College known for?
Des Moines Area Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Physics
- Medical
- Biology
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Criminal Justice
- Education
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Mathematics
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
38%
Student body
3K
What is Iowa Central Community College known for?
Iowa Central Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Criminal Justice
- Social Work
- Communications
- Sociology
- History
- Literature
- Medical
- Mathematics
- Computer Science
- Engineering
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
47%
Student body
2K
What is Northeast Iowa Community College known for?
Northeast Iowa Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
28%
Student body
3K
What is Hawkeye Community College known for?
Hawkeye Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
36%
Student body
<1K
What is Ellsworth Community College known for?
Ellsworth Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
29%
Student body
4K
What is Iowa Western Community College known for?
Iowa Western Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
35%
Student body
2K
What is Southeastern Community College known for?
Southeastern Community College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
47%
Student body
1K
What is Southwestern Community College known for?
Southwestern Community College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
55%
Student body
2K
What is North Iowa Area Community College known for?
North Iowa Area Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
38%
Student body
3K
What is Western Iowa Tech Community College known for?
Western Iowa Tech Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
39%
Student body
1K
What is Marshalltown Community College known for?
Marshalltown Community College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
40%
Student body
4K
What is Eastern Iowa Community Colleges known for?
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
62%
Student body
1K
What 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 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 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
