Which Iowa welding and machining program has the lowest debt?

Northeast Iowa Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,479, with first-year pay of $43,588.

How much do welding and machining graduates earn in Iowa?

The median across 7 Iowa welding and machining certificate programs is $41,613 in the first year after graduating and $50,284 five years after.

How many welding and machining certificate programs are in Iowa?

7 Iowa programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Welding and Machining (Certificate) Programs in Iowa, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

7 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Certificate in Precision Metal Working

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Iowa welding and machining certificate program pays its graduates $41,613 in their first year, $5,330 more than the national median. Marshalltown Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($45,972), and Northeast Iowa Community College the lowest median debt ($5,479).

Median first-year pay$41,613National $36,283

Median pay after 5 years$50,284National $45,062

Median federal debt$5,500National $8,447

Debt-to-earnings17%National 22%

All 7 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	Marshalltown Community CollegeMarshalltown · public	$45,972	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
2	Hawkeye Community CollegeWaterloo · public	$45,509	$55,933	$7,874	17%
3	Northeast Iowa Community CollegeCalmar · public	$43,588	$55,764	$5,479	13%
4	Western Iowa Tech Community CollegeSioux City · public	$41,613	Not reported	$7,910	19%
5	Des Moines Area Community CollegeAnkeny · public	$39,397	$52,978	$5,500	14%
6	Iowa Western Community CollegeCouncil Bluffs · public	$27,761	Not reported	$5,500	20%
7	Iowa Central Community CollegeFort Dodge · public	$27,404	$44,065	Not reported	Not reported

Marshalltown Community College and Iowa Central Community College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa welding and machining 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 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Marshalltown Community College$45,972
Hawkeye Community College$45,509
Northeast Iowa Community College$43,588
Western Iowa Tech Community College$41,613
Des Moines Area Community College$39,397

Lowest median debt

Northeast Iowa Community College$5,479
Des Moines Area Community College$5,500
Iowa Western Community College$5,500
Hawkeye Community College$7,874
Western Iowa Tech Community College$7,910

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 welding and machining, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

$55,090

Median pay in Iowa. 9,270 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 40,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $45,590Top 10%: $65,250

Machinists

$57,540

Median pay in Iowa. 2,880 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 26,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $44,500Top 10%: $71,160

Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

$48,240

Median pay in Iowa. 2,030 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $36,550Top 10%: $57,490

Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators

$52,300

Median pay in Iowa. 4,750 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $39,450Top 10%: $63,040

Common questions

Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown reports the highest median first-year pay, $45,972.

Welding and Machining (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked263 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 welding and machining certificate 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