by our College Data Analytics TeamThis overview lays out the cost of attending University of Iowa, from the published cost of attendance and projected degree cost through to net price, median student debt at graduation, default outcomes, and how aid varies by family income.
Use the links below to jump straight to any section on this page:
Cost of attendance at University of Iowa fell between $26,883.00 through $48,971.00 depending on your residency status.
The lower figure reflects the in-state rate and the higher figure the out-of-state rate: about $26,883.00 in-state compared with $48,971.00 for out-of-state students.
The three scenarios below move from the full sticker price, to the net price after average aid, to the net price low-income students typically pay.
| Tuition and fees | $11,283.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $15,600.00 |
| Total cost | $26,883.00 |
| That is 40% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $26,883.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$6,065.00 |
| Net price | $20,818.00 |
| That is 8% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $26,883.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$13,280.00 |
| Net price | $13,603.00 |
| That is 29% below the national average net price. |
| Tuition and fees | $33,371.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $15,600.00 |
| Total cost | $48,971.00 |
| That is 154% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $48,971.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$6,065.00 |
| Net price | $42,906.00 |
| That is 123% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $48,971.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$13,280.00 |
| Net price | $35,691.00 |
| That is 85% above the national average net price. | |
| Want the line-by-line detail? Dig into tuition and fees plus room and board. |
Costs have trended upward in recent years by around 1.5% annually, so the projections below total more than one year of attendance. The projections below run a full degree for a low-income aided student, an average-aid student, and the full sticker price. The repayment figures use a ten-year loan at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Freshman year | $13,808.00 | $21,132.00 | $27,289.00 |
| Senior year | $14,443.00 | $22,103.00 | $28,543.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $56,496.00 | $86,461.00 | $111,651.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $21,523.00 | $32,939.00 | $42,535.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $650.00 | $995.00 | $1,285.00 |
| Total amount paid | $78,019.00 | $119,400.00 | $154,186.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Freshman year | $13,808.00 | $21,132.00 | $27,289.00 |
| Senior year | $14,017.00 | $21,451.00 | $27,701.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $27,825.00 | $42,583.00 | $54,989.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $10,600.00 | $16,223.00 | $20,949.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $320.00 | $490.00 | $633.00 |
| Total amount paid | $38,425.00 | $58,806.00 | $75,938.00 |
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Freshman year | $36,230.00 | $43,554.00 | $49,710.00 |
| Senior year | $37,895.00 | $45,555.00 | $51,995.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $148,232.00 | $178,197.00 | $203,387.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $56,471.00 | $67,887.00 | $77,483.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,706.00 | $2,051.00 | $2,341.00 |
| Total amount paid | $204,703.00 | $246,084.00 | $280,870.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Freshman year | $36,230.00 | $43,554.00 | $49,710.00 |
| Senior year | $36,776.00 | $44,211.00 | $50,460.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $73,006.00 | $87,764.00 | $100,170.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $27,813.00 | $33,435.00 | $38,161.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $840.00 | $1,010.00 | $1,153.00 |
| Total amount paid | $100,819.00 | $121,199.00 | $138,331.00 |
Jump to the net-price detail in the net price section below.
Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published sticker price. For most students, this is the more useful number than published tuition because it reflects the real out-of-pocket cost.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $22,531.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $21,398.00 |
Net price is far from uniform: lower-income families typically pay much less after aid. The breakdown below splits average net price across income brackets:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $13,811.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $16,220.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $20,136.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $22,711.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $24,580.00 |
For a personalized estimate, try the University of Iowa Net Price Calculator, or reach out to the financial aid office.
For the grant-and-scholarship detail behind these figures, see the financial aid page.
Median graduate debt at University of Iowa works out to $18,207.00, which federal data classifies as a Low ($10-20k) debt-burden bucket.
The percentile breakdown reveals the full debt landscape:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $3,750.00 |
| 25th | $7,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $18,207.00 |
| 75th | $26,344.00 |
| 90th | $30,762.00 |
The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is one signal of how variable debt outcomes are across the student body.
Read the complete debt breakdown on the student loan debt page.
Family income tracks closely with debt at graduation. Below the data splits borrowers across three income groups:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,000.00 |
| Middle income | $18,268.00 |
| High income | $18,187.00 |
First-generation college students often carry different debt loads than their continuing-generation peers.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,750.00 |
First-generation borrowers from University of Iowa carry $750.00 more than continuing-generation graduates.
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Pell vs non-Pell comparisons surface how debt breaks down by need.
The Pell vs non-Pell debt gap at University of Iowa stands at $2,701.00. This school is flagged by the Department of Education for Pell-related debt inequity.
The federal default-rate classification for University of Iowa is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 3.3% |
To put the rates in context, Stafford loans at University of Iowa amount to $1,864,495,360.00 across 71,295 student borrowers.
Veterans and active-duty students can access dedicated federal education aid including the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 323 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $11,326.00 |
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 149 |
| Avg DoD Tuition Assistance | $3,401.00 |
Read more about military and veteran aid on the veterans benefits detail.
Use the figures above as a launch point, then think through University of Iowa, think through the questions below:
Use the pages below to go deeper on a specific part of the cost story:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.