+16%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Kirkwood Community College rose 16% between 2021 and 2024 ($5.3k → $6.2k).
Iowa · Public · Predominantly associate's
Kirkwood Community College
Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 7,438 undergraduate students. 95 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Kirkwood Community College
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.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Kirkwood Community College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.0% → 0.0%).
+16%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Kirkwood Community College rose 16% between 2021 and 2024 ($7.1k → $8.2k).
+10%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Kirkwood Community College rose 10% between 2021 and 2024 (64.5% → 71.1%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Iowa
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.
$41,016+9% · 6→10y
Iowa median $42,849$37,525
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry40.5%-3% · '99→'09
Iowa median 58.4%$7,591+357% · '97→'20
At program completion7,438-28% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS69.1%+15% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$5,980+217% · '00→'24
out-of-state $7,968SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How 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).
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
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
2.5%Median federal debt $7,591 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $41,016 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+15%
Kirkwood Community College · retention rose
62.0% → 71.1%
-28%
Kirkwood Community College · undergrad enrollment fell
10,594 → 7,591
+217%
Kirkwood Community College · in-state tuition rose
$1,950 → $6,176
+111%
Kirkwood Community College · out-of-state tuition rose
$3,900 → $8,220
+357%
Kirkwood Community College · median debt rose
$2,625 → $12,000
-100%
Kirkwood Community College · cohort default rate fell
15.0% → 0.0%
+21%
Kirkwood Community College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$33,900 → $41,016
+22%
Kirkwood Community College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$31,800 → $38,825
+27%
Kirkwood Community College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$29,500 → $37,525
SECTION 05 · 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.
Electromechanical Instrumentation and Maintenance Technologies/Technicians.$73,881Construction Management.$64,292Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$62,713Computer Programming.$62,374Agricultural Mechanization.$61,665Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management.$58,598Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$58,566Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR).$57,033Precision Metal Working.$55,889Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies.$54,430Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians.$54,335Accounting and Related Services.$51,059Natural Resources Conservation and Research.$50,890Agricultural Production Operations.$46,670Marketing.$45,159Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$43,552Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services.$40,840Culinary Arts and Related Services.$40,714Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians.$40,178Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$40,143Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$38,976Business Administration, Management and Operations.$38,052Business Operations Support and Assistant Services.$33,199Culinary Arts and Related Services.$30,308
Showing top 24 of 25 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
25 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
PERSONAL & CULINARY SERVICES · CIP 12
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
MECHANIC & REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 47
PRECISION PRODUCTION · CIP 48
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
AGRICULTURE · CIP 01
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Kirkwood Community College
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
$162,705
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 12
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $9,806
- HS-only baseline · IA
- $36,800
- Years to complete
- 2
- CIP family
- 24
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
Same sector and degree mix in Iowa
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Kirkwood Community College graduates earn $X” — not “Kirkwood Community College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Kirkwood Community College 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.