Ames, Iowa. 25,033 undergraduate students. 323 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 153603 · OPEID 001869 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Iowa State
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+14%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Iowa State University rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($25.4k → $28.9k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Iowa State University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.7% → 0.0%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+12%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Iowa State University rose 12% between 2021 and 2024 ($9.6k → $10.8k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER+12%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Iowa State University rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 (50.8% → 56.7%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Iowa State earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Iowa median
Each tile compares this institution to the Iowa median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$63,386+18% · 6→10y
Iowa median $42,849
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$53,873
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
75.5%+25% · '97→'24
Iowa median 58.4%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$18,750+118% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
25,033+26% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
87.6%+3% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
89.1%-2% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$10,497+244% · '00→'24
out-of-state $27,683
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Iowa State earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at Iowa State
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
3.9%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $18,750 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $63,386 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Iowa State enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–202425,367
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–202475.3%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$22,869
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 1997→2024+25%
Iowa State · completion · 150% rose
60.1% → 75.3%
COMPLETION · 100% · 1997→2024+175%
Iowa State · completion · 100% rose
20.6% → 56.7%
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 1996→2024+26%
Iowa State · undergrad enrollment rose
20,100 → 25,367
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+244%
Iowa State · in-state tuition rose
$3,132 → $10,787
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+190%
Iowa State · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,974 → $28,881
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+118%
Iowa State · median debt rose
$10,500 → $22,869
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-100%
Iowa State · cohort default rate fell
4.0% → 0.0%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+30%
Iowa State · earnings_median_10yr rose
$48,600 → $63,386
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+33%
Iowa State · earnings_median_8yr rose
$44,400 → $59,021
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+35%
Iowa State · earnings_median_6yr rose
$39,900 → $53,873
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Iowa State programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$1,059,763
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$15,430
HS-only baseline · IA
$36,800
Years to complete
4
CIP family
14
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Iowa State in Iowa
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“Iowa State graduates earn $X” — not “Iowa State makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Iowa State caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.