Which Iowa social work program has the lowest debt?

University of Northern Iowa reports the lowest median federal debt, $22,847, with first-year pay of $37,257.

How much do social work graduates earn in Iowa?

The median across 6 Iowa social work bachelor's programs is $38,294 in the first year after graduating and $42,121 five years after.

How many social work bachelor's programs are in Iowa?

6 Iowa programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

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

6 programs report first-year pay
6 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Social Work

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Iowa social work bachelor's program pays its graduates $38,294 in their first year, $1,075 more than the national median. Briar Cliff University reports the highest first-year pay ($42,935), and University of Northern Iowa the lowest median debt ($22,847).

Median first-year pay$38,294National $37,220

Median pay after 5 years$42,121National $49,258

Median federal debt$25,837National $26,579

Debt-to-earnings66%National 72%

All 6 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	Briar Cliff UniversitySioux City · private nonprofit	$42,935	Not reported	$37,564	87%
2	Grand View UniversityDes Moines · private nonprofit	$40,736	Not reported	$25,837	63%
3	University of IowaIowa City · public	$39,285	$52,381	$25,180	64%
4	Mount Mercy UniversityCedar Rapids · private nonprofit	$37,303	$37,826	$25,677	69%
5	University of Northern IowaCedar Falls · public	$37,257	$46,416	$22,847	61%
6	Luther CollegeDecorah · private nonprofit	$30,372	Not reported	$27,000	89%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa social work 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 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

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 social work, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$52,250

Median pay in Iowa. 3,410 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $39,240Top 10%: $81,170

Social and Community Service Managers

$65,940

Median pay in Iowa. 2,790 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $46,000Top 10%: $102,740

Healthcare Social Workers

$63,050

Median pay in Iowa. 1,550 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,140Top 10%: $80,360

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

$48,530

Median pay in Iowa. 1,200 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $37,980Top 10%: $80,760

Common questions

Briar Cliff University in Sioux City reports the highest median first-year pay, $42,935. Its median federal debt is $37,564.

Social Work (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked328 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 social work 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