Trade-School ROI in Iowa

Name: Trade-School ROI in Iowa
Creator: Ikan Media Inc.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A Iowa-specific cut of our national dataset: which trades pay back the most per tuition dollar, what schools cost, and where you can get paid to train instead of paying — all from official U.S. federal data. Free to cite with attribution to Explore Top Colleges. National report & full CSV →

Apprenticeship record mappings in Iowa

1,145

sum across included trade rows

Trade-school net price range

$10,171–$16,150

/yr, depending on trade

Trades tracked in Iowa

state × trade rows

This report includes only Iowa trade rows with a published school-comparison page. Apprenticeship totals add the record counts in those rows; a source record may appear in multiple trades. They are not deduplicated counts of unique programs, sponsors, or current openings. Confirm application availability with the sponsor. Count definitions →

Best-value trades in Iowa

Ranked by median graduate earnings (10 yrs after entry) per $1,000 of annual net price — a school-level value measure. Methodology.

Trade	Value ($/$1k tuition)	Median net price/yr	Median earnings	Paid apprenticeships
CDL & Truck Driving	$4,058	$10,171	$41,277	18
Dental Assisting	$4,022	$10,199	$41,017	2
Culinary Arts	$4,021	$10,199	$41,013	6
Plumbing	$3,924	$10,489	$41,161	279
HVAC	$3,863	$10,693	$41,306	323

Get paid to train instead — in Iowa

345 apprenticeship records matched to electrician — alongside a median $11,171/yr net price at schools in this category in Iowa.
323 apprenticeship records matched to hvac — alongside a median $10,693/yr net price at schools in this category in Iowa.
279 apprenticeship records matched to plumbing — alongside a median $10,489/yr net price at schools in this category in Iowa.
40 apprenticeship records matched to welding — alongside a median $10,693/yr net price at schools in this category in Iowa.

See all Iowa trade schools & apprenticeships →

Compiled by Ikan Media Inc. from public federal data (U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard, U.S. DOL apprenticeship.gov, CareerOneStop). Independent site, not affiliated with any government agency. Free to cite with attribution. Source release periods differ; rebuilding this page does not re-verify records. Full national dataset · source vintage and methodology.