Best Media programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
All media and communication workers not listed.
21 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 379 people a year. The job pays a median of $50,080 in Iowa across about 80 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.
2 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.
Top 21 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 122 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $37,647 | 75% | — | 84% |
| 2 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 68 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $40,558 | 68% | — | 93% |
| 3 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $40,497 | 75% | — | 89% |
| 4 | Drake University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 74% | $28,855 | 64% |
| 5 | Waldorf University Forest City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 21% | $22,328 | 77% |
| 6 | Hawkeye Community College Waterloo, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 43% | — | — |
| 7 | Central College Pella, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 66% | $19,732 | 86% |
| 8 | Iowa Western Community College Council Bluffs, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 40% | — | — |
| 9 | Luther College Decorah, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $42,012 | 71% | $22,827 | 72% |
| 10 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 11 | Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 42% | — | — |
| 12 | Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 39% | — | — |
| 13 | Indian Hills Community College Ottumwa, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 40% | — | — |
| 14 | Graceland University - Lamoni Lamoni, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 42% | $16,430 | 81% |
| 15 | Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 62% | $17,609 | 78% |
| 16 | Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 66% | $18,153 | 64% |
| 17 | Eastern Iowa Community College District Davenport, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 45% | — | — |
| 18 | Ellsworth Community College Iowa Falls, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 38% | — | — |
| 19 | Iowa Lakes Community College Estherville, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 50% | — | — |
| 20 | Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 58% | $23,054 | 83% |
| 21 | Simpson College Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia | — | 63% | $20,710 | 86% |
All 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Iowa | Iowa City | Public | 122 | 1 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 68 | 2 |
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 1 |
| Waldorf University | Forest City | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 1 |
| Hawkeye Community College | Waterloo | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Central College | Pella | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Iowa Western Community College | Council Bluffs | Public | 13 | 2 |
| Luther College | Decorah | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Dordt University | Sioux Center | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 2 |
| Iowa Central Community College | Fort Dodge | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Des Moines Area Community College | Ankeny | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Indian Hills Community College | Ottumwa | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Graceland University - Lamoni | Lamoni | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Buena Vista University | Storm Lake | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
What media and communication workers, all other earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $73,620. Iowa pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
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 Media and Communication Workers, All Other page.
How to become a Media
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
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 3 majors mapped to Media and Communication Workers, All Other3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0101Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- 09.0702Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia
- 10.0105Communications Technology/Technician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing media and communication workers, all other programs in Iowa.
What degree do you need to become a Media?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Speech Communication and Rhetoric, which awarded 287 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 75.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Media?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication and Media Studies, Radio. Together they graduate about 379 people a year in Iowa.
How much do media and communication workers, all other earn in Iowa?+
The median is $50,080 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 32.0% below the U.S. median of $73,620. 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 media and communication workers, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +2.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+
21 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Short-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
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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