Iowa State Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Ames, IA
- About 158 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Iowa State biology graduates earn about what biology graduates earn nationally, $32,528 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,614 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Iowa programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Iowa and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Iowa State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,089 less than the Iowa median. Several Iowa programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Iowa medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 80% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $3,863 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $261 a month, or 9.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 54 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $24,669.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
65% of graduates (100 of 153) were working in Iowa one year after graduating. Prices in the Ames area are about 11% below the national average, so a $32,528 salary here buys what about $36,618 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to biology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$61,200Median pay in Iowa. 12,310 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$83,850Median pay in Iowa. 1,060 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Natural Sciences Managers
$109,760Median pay in Iowa. 610 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Biological Technicians
$48,050Median pay in Iowa. 800 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Iowa State
Biology ranks 59th of 63 bachelor's programs at Iowa State by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($84,913), Computer Engineering ($79,182), and Computer Science ($78,517).
Other biology bachelor's programs near Ames
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,528 one year after graduating and $58,585 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Iowa is $34,398.
The median federal loan balance is $24,614, which ranks 3rd lowest of 17 biology bachelor's programs in Iowa. That works out to about $261 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 76% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%. Compare the cost with other Iowa programs before deciding.
Most do. 65% (100 of 153) were working in Iowa one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Iowa comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the biology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024