Best Colleges in Iowa (2026)

How this list is ranked

The strongest colleges and universities in Iowa, ranked by graduation rate and selectivity, with verified acceptance rates, net price, and test scores for this admissions cycle.

Schools on this list 40

Source Federal data, same records as every school page

Admit rate, net price, and SAT in the table are for context. Rank order follows the method above, not those columns.

Rank	School	Admit	Net price	SAT
1	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	84%	$22,531	1130-1330	See record
2	Iowa State University Ames, IA	89%	$18,589	1120-1360	See record
3	St Luke's College Sioux City, IA	80%	$19,820	980	See record
4	Divine Word College Epworth, IA	-	-	-	See record
5	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA	14.5%	$17,648	1410-1540	See record
6	Emmaus Bible College Dubuque, IA	60%	$13,186	1120-1320	See record
7	Orion Technical College Davenport, IA	-	$26,439	-	See record
8	Drake University Des Moines, IA	64%	$29,127	1110-1350	See record
9	Luther College Decorah, IA	72%	$23,097	1078-1406	See record
10	Dordt University Sioux Center, IA	68%	$25,807	1070-1330	See record
11	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA	93%	$15,901	1020-1280	See record
12	Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary Ankeny, IA	68%	$16,282	990-1190	See record
13	Loras College Dubuque, IA	100%	$20,716	-	See record
14	Central College Pella, IA	86%	$23,377	1056-1120	See record
15	Northwestern College Orange City, IA	80%	$25,907	-	See record
16	Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA	64%	$18,745	1070-1290	See record
17	Mercy College of Health Sciences Des Moines, IA	100%	$26,924	980	See record
18	Wartburg College Waverly, IA	76%	$32,908	930-1200	See record
19	Simpson College Indianola, IA	86%	$21,936	1440	See record
20	Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA	80%	$23,634	1120-1285	See record
21	Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA	78%	$18,846	1120	See record
22	Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA	77%	$24,691	930-1170	See record
23	Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, IA	83%	$20,168	-	See record
24	Clarke University Dubuque, IA	72%	$24,479	900-1160	See record
25	Grand View University Des Moines, IA	99%	$21,774	-	See record
26	Morningside University Sioux City, IA	71%	$31,320	-	See record
27	Maharishi International University Fairfield, IA	96%	$14,956	-	See record
28	Briar Cliff University Sioux City, IA	-	$23,907	-	See record
29	Graceland University-Lamoni Lamoni, IA	81%	$18,504	-	See record
30	University of Dubuque Dubuque, IA	89%	$23,386	980-1220	See record
31	Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA	96%	$20,942	1090	See record
32	William Penn University Oskaloosa, IA	52%	$22,601	880-1110	See record
33	Waldorf University Forest City, IA	77%	$19,693	-	See record
34	Allen College Waterloo, IA	-	-	-	See record
35	American Hair Academy Mt. Pleasant, IA	-	$11,556	-	See record
36	Aveda Institute-Des Moines West Des Moines, IA	-	$18,552	-	See record
37	Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School Urbandale, IA	-	$44,980	-	See record
38	Capri College-Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids, IA	-	$16,541	-	See record
39	Capri College-Davenport Davenport, IA	-	$16,635	-	See record
40	Capri College-Dubuque Dubuque, IA	-	$15,660	-	See record