Community Colleges in Iowa

The 2023 Directory of Iowa Community Colleges and Costs

Iowa Community Colleges, Cost and Affordability for 2022

How much does it cost to attend community college in Iowa?   The average annual in-state two year college tuition in Iowa was $6,594 for the 2021-2022 academic year. This is a change of $457 from the 2019-2020 average of $6,137 and represents a 7.45% annual increase. The list of Iowa community colleges below provides school specific cost and value rating. Community colleges, also known as junior colleges, provide an excellent money saving opportunity for those concerned with college costs. Many students are choosing to begin their education at community colleges for two years, taking advantage of their lower cost. Then after two years transferring to a full four year institution to pursue a full bachelors degree or higher. Most community colleges also have the benefit of open admission policies.  

Our guide surveyed tuition data from the 16 community colleges and universities in Iowa, the most popular being Des Moines Area Community College with 5,414 full time students and an in-state tuition list price of $5,220. Southwestern Community College is the most expensive community school in Iowa with an in-state tuition of $6,170.

Click on any school for current tuition, future cost estimates, school specific savings plans and estimated student loan payments. Iowa colleges can also be filtered by public, private, community colleges and four year schools. Additionally, cost based sorting is available for the lowest and highest tuition options. Jump directly to our ranking of best values in Iowa or cheap Iowa colleges guide.

<Academic Rating is a CollegeCalc proprietary national percentile ranking of a college's overall difficulty and educational effectiveness. An average score is 50. Dollar value is a measure of a school's academic rating compared with the average net price paid. Colleges which are ranked "n/a" didn't report sufficient data to formulate a score. Learn more about our ratings.

All price data are reprinted from the U.S. Department of Education's 2020-2021 IPEDS Survey and reflect reported costs for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Explore Iowa Colleges

School Tuition Rating Value
Des Moines Area Community College

Ankeny, Iowa

$5,220 NA NA
Eastern Iowa Community College District

Davenport, Iowa

$4,296 NA NA
Ellsworth Community College

Iowa Falls, Iowa

$4,416 NA NA
Hawkeye Community College

Waterloo, Iowa

$5,818 NA NA
Indian Hills Community College

Ottumwa, Iowa

$4,560 NA NA
Iowa Central Community College

Fort Dodge, Iowa

$5,280 NA NA
Iowa Lakes Community College

Estherville, Iowa

$6,112 NA NA
Iowa Western Community College

Council Bluffs, Iowa

$5,820 NA NA
Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

$5,208 NA NA
Marshalltown Community College

Marshalltown, Iowa

$4,416 NA NA
North Iowa Area Community College

Mason City, Iowa

$5,153 NA NA
Northeast Iowa Community College Calmar

Calmar, Iowa

$5,400 NA NA
Northwest Iowa Community College

Sheldon, Iowa

$5,490 NA NA
Southeastern Community College

West Burlington, Iowa

$5,880 NA NA
Southwestern Community College

Creston, Iowa

$6,170 NA NA
Western Iowa Tech Community College

Sioux City, Iowa

$3,912 NA NA