Best Musician programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
Play one or more musical instruments or sing.
20 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 208 people a year. The job pays a median of $35.65/hr in Iowa across about 250 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.
5 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 | Music, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0901In Iowa → | 162 | 77.9% | 15 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 2 | Music Performance, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0903In Iowa → | 25 | 12.0% | 9 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 3 | Music Pedagogymain feeder CIP 50.0912In Iowa → | 16 | 7.7% | 1 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0509In Iowa → | 4 | 1.9% | 2 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 5 | Keyboard Instrumentsmain feeder CIP 50.0907In Iowa → | 1 | 0.5% | 1 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
Top 20 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 20 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 · 2 feeder programs | 100 | Music, General | $39,121 | 75% | — | 84% |
| 2 | Luther College Decorah, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Music, General | $45,367 | 71% | $22,827 | 72% |
| 3 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Music, General | — | 75% | — | 89% |
| 4 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 3 feeder programs | 16 | Music Performance, General | $32,175 | 68% | — | 93% |
| 5 | Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 7 | Music, General | $24,233 | 66% | $18,153 | 64% |
| 6 | Drake University Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Music Performance, General | — | 74% | $28,855 | 64% |
| 7 | Southwestern Community College Creston, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Music, General | — | 59% | — | — |
| 8 | Wartburg College Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Music, General | — | 64% | $20,228 | 76% |
| 9 | Simpson College Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 3 | Music Performance, General | — | 63% | $20,710 | 86% |
| 10 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Music, General | — | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 11 | Graceland University - Lamoni Lamoni, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Music Performance, General | — | 42% | $16,430 | 81% |
| 12 | Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Music, General | — | 43% | — | — |
| 13 | Central College Pella, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Musical Theatre | — | 66% | $19,732 | 86% |
| 14 | Clarke University Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music Performance, General | — | 56% | $21,417 | 72% |
| 15 | Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music Performance, General | — | 62% | $23,073 | 80% |
| 16 | Loras College Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music, General | — | 68% | $19,227 | 100% |
| 17 | Morningside University Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music, General | — | 50% | $22,816 | 71% |
| 18 | Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music, General | — | 61% | $21,680 | 77% |
| 19 | University of Dubuque Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music, General | — | 40% | $21,324 | 89% |
| 20 | William Penn University Oskaloosa, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music Performance, General | — | 33% | $21,533 | 52% |
All 20 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 | 100 | 2 |
| Luther College | Decorah | Private not-for-profit | 33 | 2 |
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 17 | 1 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 16 | 3 |
| Coe College | Cedar Rapids | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 2 |
| Drake University | Des Moines | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Southwestern Community College | Creston | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Wartburg College | Waverly | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Simpson College | Indianola | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 2 |
| Dordt University | Sioux Center | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Graceland University - Lamoni | Lamoni | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids | Public | 2 | 1 |
| Central College | Pella | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Clarke University | Dubuque | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Cornell College | Mount Vernon | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What musicians and singers earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
BLS publishes an hourly wage only for this occupation. The work is intermittent, so no annual figure is estimated.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Iowa, by employment
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 Musicians and Singers page.
How to become a Musician
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Long-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 12 majors mapped to Musicians and Singers12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 50.0509Musical Theatre
- 50.0901Music, General
- 50.0903Music Performance, General
- 50.0907Keyboard Instruments
- 50.0908Voice and Opera
- 50.0910Jazz/Jazz Studies
- 50.0911Stringed Instruments
- 50.0912Music Pedagogy
- 50.0914Brass Instruments
- 50.0915Woodwind Instruments
- 50.0916Percussion Instruments
- 50.0999Music, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing musicians and singers programs in Iowa.
What degree do you need to become a Musician?+
No formal educational credential is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Music, General, which awarded 162 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 77.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Musician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Music, Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Together they graduate about 208 people a year in Iowa.
How much do musicians and singers earn in Iowa?+
The median is $35.65 an hour (BLS OEWS May 2025). 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 musicians and singers growing?+
BLS projects a +1.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 19,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+
20 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 musicians and singers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Singer, Musician, Violinist, Choir Member among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-2042.
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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