Best Cost Estimator programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service.
43 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,538 people a year. The job pays a median of $76,040 in Iowa across about 1,870 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Iowa that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Iowa that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Iowa (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Iowa page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0201In Iowa → | 2,661 | 75.2% | 42 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 14.1901In Iowa → | 550 | 15.5% | 6 | $70,724 | $24,833 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0101In Iowa → | 241 | 6.8% | 7 | $44,700 | $24,000 |
| 4 | CIP 14.3301In Iowa → | 52 | 1.5% | 1 | $75,998 | $25,314 |
| 5 | CIP 14.1801In Iowa → | 33 | 0.9% | 1 | $74,110 | $23,250 |
| 6 | CIP 14.3601In Iowa → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $72,154 | $21,457 |
Top 25 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 25 of the 43 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 5 feeder programs | 631 | Mechanical Engineering | $72,900 | 75% | — | 89% |
| 2 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 580 | Business Administration and Management, General | $46,264 | 75% | — | 84% |
| 3 | Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 206 | Business Administration and Management, General | $55,854 | 34% | $22,697 | 96% |
| 4 | Waldorf University Forest City, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 180 | Business/Commerce, General | $51,954 | 21% | $22,328 | 77% |
| 5 | Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 151 | Business Administration and Management, General | $35,852 | 39% | — | — |
| 6 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 126 | Business Administration and Management, General | $51,690 | 68% | — | 93% |
| 7 | Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 123 | Business Administration and Management, General | $37,385 | 43% | — | — |
| 8 | Drake University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 114 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,806 | 74% | $28,855 | 64% |
| 9 | Maharishi International University Fairfield, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 114 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 50% | $19,927 | 96% |
| 10 | Iowa Western Community College Council Bluffs, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 110 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 40% | — | — |
| 11 | Southeastern Community College West Burlington, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 91 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 43% | — | — |
| 12 | Wartburg College Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 76 | Business/Commerce, General | $54,652 | 64% | $20,228 | 76% |
| 13 | Eastern Iowa Community College District Davenport, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 75 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 45% | — | — |
| 14 | Morningside University Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 59 | Business Administration and Management, General | $45,637 | 50% | $22,816 | 71% |
| 15 | Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Business Administration and Management, General | $40,297 | 58% | $23,054 | 83% |
| 16 | Northeast Iowa Community College Calmar, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 56 | Business Administration and Management, General | $29,018 | 51% | — | — |
| 17 | Clarke University Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Business Administration and Management, General | $38,921 | 56% | $21,417 | 72% |
| 18 | William Penn University Oskaloosa, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 53 | Business Administration and Management, General | $62,162 | 33% | $21,533 | 52% |
| 19 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 51 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 20 | Northwestern College Orange City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Business Administration and Management, General | $48,515 | 66% | $22,419 | 80% |
| 21 | Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Business Administration and Management, General | $47,815 | 66% | $18,153 | 64% |
| 22 | Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 45 | Business Administration and Management, General | $60,163 | 61% | $21,680 | 77% |
| 23 | Loras College Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 44 | Business Administration and Management, General | $41,810 | 68% | $19,227 | 100% |
| 24 | Central College Pella, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Business Administration and Management, General | $55,760 | 66% | $19,732 | 86% |
| 25 | Northwest Iowa Community College Sheldon, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Business Administration and Management, General | — | 58% | — | — |
All 43 schools in Iowa
Every school in Iowa with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 631 | 5 |
| University of Iowa | Iowa City | Public | 580 | 2 |
| Upper Iowa University | Fayette | Private not-for-profit | 206 | 1 |
| Waldorf University | Forest City | Private not-for-profit | 180 | 2 |
| Des Moines Area Community College | Ankeny | Public | 151 | 1 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 126 | 1 |
| Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids | Public | 123 | 1 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 114 | 2 |
| Maharishi International University | Fairfield | Private not-for-profit | 114 | 1 |
| Iowa Western Community College | Council Bluffs | Public | 110 | 1 |
| Southeastern Community College | West Burlington | Public | 91 | 1 |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | Private not-for-profit | 76 | 1 |
| Eastern Iowa Community College District | Davenport | Public | 75 | 1 |
| Morningside University | Sioux City | Private not-for-profit | 59 | 1 |
| Mount Mercy University | Cedar Rapids | Private not-for-profit | 59 | 2 |
What cost estimators earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $78,740. Iowa pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Iowa
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Cost Estimators page.
How to become a Cost Estimator
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Iowa
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Cost Estimators7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.1801Materials Engineering
- 14.1901Mechanical Engineering
- 14.3301Construction Engineering
- 14.3601Manufacturing Engineering
- 15.1001Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
- 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
- 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing cost estimators programs in Iowa.
What degree do you need to become a Cost Estimator?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 2,661 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 75.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Cost Estimator?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Mechanical Engineering, Business/Commerce, Construction Engineering, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 3,538 people a year in Iowa.
How much do cost estimators earn in Iowa?+
The median is $76,040 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.4% below the U.S. median of $78,740. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for cost estimators growing?+
BLS projects a -4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 16,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+
43 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do cost estimators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Estimator, Cost Analyst, Cost Estimator, Construction Estimator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1051.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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