Which Iowa accounting program has the lowest debt?

Drake University reports the lowest median federal debt, $20,500, with first-year pay of $65,922.

How much do accounting graduates earn in Iowa?

The median across 17 Iowa accounting bachelor's programs is $59,252 in the first year after graduating and $77,333 five years after.

How many accounting bachelor's programs are in Iowa?

17 Iowa programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 14 of them also report federal debt.

Accounting (Bachelor's) Programs in Iowa, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

17 programs report first-year pay
14 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Iowa accounting bachelor's program pays its graduates $59,252 in their first year, $5,193 more than the national median. Drake University reports the highest first-year pay ($65,922), and Drake University the lowest median debt ($20,500).

Median first-year pay$59,252National $54,059

Median pay after 5 years$77,333National $71,308

Median federal debt$26,920National $24,958

Debt-to-earnings45%National 45%

All 17 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Drake UniversityDes Moines · private nonprofit	$65,922	$90,542	$20,500	31%
2	University of IowaIowa City · public	$65,373	$90,952	$22,500	34%
3	Wartburg CollegeWaverly · private nonprofit	$61,529	$79,556	$26,840	44%
4	Loras CollegeDubuque · private nonprofit	$61,147	$74,427	Not reported	Not reported
5	University of Northern IowaCedar Falls · public	$61,088	$81,462	$21,525	35%
6	Morningside UniversitySioux City · private nonprofit	$60,752	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
7	Simpson CollegeIndianola · private nonprofit	$60,717	$77,451	$27,000	44%
8	Luther CollegeDecorah · private nonprofit	$60,068	$90,836	$27,000	45%
9	Coe CollegeCedar Rapids · private nonprofit	$59,252	$85,342	$26,000	44%
10	Central CollegePella · private nonprofit	$58,850	$74,897	$27,000	46%
11	Iowa StateAmes · public	$58,479	$73,400	$23,250	40%
12	Grand View UniversityDes Moines · private nonprofit	$56,692	$70,591	$27,000	48%
13	Saint Ambrose UniversityDavenport · private nonprofit	$56,691	$77,333	$26,559	47%
14	Upper Iowa UniversityFayette · private nonprofit	$54,152	$58,713	$37,608	69%
15	Buena Vista UniversityStorm Lake · private nonprofit	$53,280	$58,537	$27,000	51%
16	Mount Mercy UniversityCedar Rapids · private nonprofit	$52,486	$73,088	Not reported	Not reported
17	University of DubuqueDubuque · private nonprofit	$51,359	$77,576	$29,000	56%

Loras College, Morningside University, and Mount Mercy University report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa accounting 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 the 14 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Drake University$65,922
University of Iowa$65,373
Wartburg College$61,529
Loras College$61,147
University of Northern Iowa$61,088

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$77,440

Median pay in Iowa. 13,210 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $51,420Top 10%: $123,700

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$48,180

Median pay in Iowa. 14,020 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $33,240Top 10%: $66,490

Financial Managers

$133,320

Median pay in Iowa. 9,130 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $80,020Top 10%: $225,920

Financial and Investment Analysts

$92,370

Median pay in Iowa. 2,000 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $62,310Top 10%: $135,890

Common questions

Drake University in Des Moines reports the highest median first-year pay, $65,922. Its median federal debt is $20,500.

Accounting (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the accounting bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024