Iowa State earned 127 ranking badges in the 2027 College Factual rankings: 5 in the top 1%, 28 in the top 5%, 40 in the top 10% and 54 in the top 15% of the schools in each ranking. Its highest placement is #1 of 132 in Most Popular for Plant Sciences, a top 1% award.
Key facts
Badges earned: 127 (2027 edition)
In the top 1% / top 5%: 5 / 28
Highest placement: #1 of 132, a top 1% award
Fields of study with a badge: 22
Placements this edition: 555
Badge cutoff: a top 15% placement in a ranking
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
How Many Ranking Badges Has Iowa State University Earned?
Iowa State University holds 127 ranking badges across 22 fields of study, 33 of them in the top 5% or better; each badge is an award for placing in the top 15% of a ranking. We update our rankings throughout the year as new data becomes available. This page reflects the 2027 edition. Each row marks the highest award tier reached in that ranking. Learn more about our data sources and methodologies. College administrators who want to showcase these awards through our badge program can contact us.
Count by Award Level
Award Level
Badges
Top 1%
5
Top 5%
28
Top 10%
40
Top 15%
54
Total
127
What Is Iowa State University Known For?
Iowa State University is best known for Agriculture: 13 of its 76 traditional-student awards are in that field. Its top-ranked majors include Plant Sciences, Criminal Justice & Corrections and General Sales & Marketing.
In College Factual’s 2027 athletics rankings, Iowa State University earned 4 badges across 3 sports, 1 of them in the top 5% or better; its highest placement is #23 of 596 in Football.
How Does Iowa State University Rank for Online Students?
In College Factual’s 2027 online-program rankings, Iowa State University earned 1 badge across 1 online program; its highest placement is #2 of 9 in Most Popular Online for Plant Sciences.
In College Factual’s 2027 veterans rankings, Iowa State University earned 46 badges, 6 of them in the top 5% or better; its highest placement is #1 of 4 in Top Ranked Veterans for International Agriculture.
These rankings are built on federal education data, 2027 edition. Iowa State University appears in 555 of the College Factual rankings covered on this page.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
by our College Data Analytics Team