Iowa·Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations·SOC 27-3023

Best News Analyst programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment

Narrate or write news stories, reviews, or commentary for print, broadcast, or other communications media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television.

15 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 254 people a year. The job pays a median of $43,540 in Iowa across about 590 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledAnchorReporterNews AnchorNews ReporterCriticBloggerLeg ManAnchorman
Graduates / yr
254
in Iowa
Median pay · Iowa
$43,540
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
590
people employed
Schools
15
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
60%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,680
per year, IPEDS

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.

7 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.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
Journalismmain feeder
CIP 09.0401In Iowa
149
58.7%
5$34,515$24,250
2
CIP 09.0102In Iowa
38
15.0%
5$34,858$25,000
3
CIP 01.0802In Iowa
21
8.3%
1$43,778$19,500
4
CIP 09.0499In Iowa
17
6.7%
1$34,515$24,250
5
CIP 09.0100In Iowa
17
6.7%
3$34,858$25,000
6
CIP 09.0906In Iowa
7
2.8%
3$39,658$24,500
7
CIP 09.0701In Iowa
5
2.0%
1$29,112$23,836

Top 15 schools in Iowa

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 15 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA Public · 1 feeder programs
91Journalism$34,74375%84%
2Iowa State University
Ames, IA Public · 2 feeder programs
71Journalism$39,34775%89%
3Drake University
Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
17Journalism, Other$41,91374%$28,85564%
4Loras College
Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15Mass Communication/Media Studies$36,82168%$19,227100%
5Wartburg College
Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Mass Communication/Media Studies$40,25564%$20,22876%
6Saint Ambrose University
Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
8Radio and Television61%$21,68077%
7University of Dubuque
Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Communication, General40%$21,32489%
8Simpson College
Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
7Journalism63%$20,71086%
9Grand View University
Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Mass Communication/Media Studies54%$20,84099%
10Upper Iowa University
Fayette, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
6Communication, General34%$22,69796%
11Clarke University
Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Communication, General56%$21,41772%
12Morningside University
Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Mass Communication/Media Studies50%$22,81671%
13Briar Cliff University
Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Sports Communication48%$21,731
14Dordt University
Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Journalism70%$24,56968%
15University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA Public · 1 feeder programs
1Mass Communication/Media Studies$40,55868%93%

All 15 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.

All schools in Iowa that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of IowaIowa CityPublic911
Iowa State UniversityAmesPublic712
Drake UniversityDes MoinesPrivate not-for-profit171
Loras CollegeDubuquePrivate not-for-profit151
Wartburg CollegeWaverlyPrivate not-for-profit131
Saint Ambrose UniversityDavenportPrivate not-for-profit82
University of DubuqueDubuquePrivate not-for-profit81
Simpson CollegeIndianolaPrivate not-for-profit72
Grand View UniversityDes MoinesPrivate not-for-profit61
Upper Iowa UniversityFayettePrivate not-for-profit62
Clarke UniversityDubuquePrivate not-for-profit51
Morningside UniversitySioux CityPrivate not-for-profit31
Briar Cliff UniversitySioux CityPrivate not-for-profit21
Dordt UniversitySioux CenterPrivate not-for-profit11
University of Northern IowaCedar FallsPublic11

What news analysts, reporters, and journalists earn in Iowa

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Iowa
$43,540
Mean annual
$51,320
Jobs in state
590
What the range looks like
10th pct$33,160Median$43,54090th pct$82,950
Versus the national median
-30.0%

U.S. median $62,200. Iowa pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.49×

Concentrated here: Iowa employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Iowa

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
$54,230median
120 jobs
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
$48,330median
30 jobs
Cedar Rapids, IA
$48,990median
80 jobs
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
avg
70 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-3.9%
Decline
Openings per year
4,100
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-1,900
49,300 → 47,400
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists page.

How to become a News Analyst

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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

SpeakingReading ComprehensionWritingActive ListeningCritical ThinkingActive Learning

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 14 majors mapped to News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 01.0802Agricultural Communication/Journalism
  • 09.0100Communication, General
  • 09.0102Mass Communication/Media Studies
  • 09.0401Journalism
  • 09.0402Broadcast Journalism
  • 09.0404Photojournalism
  • 09.0405Business and Economic Journalism(no graduates reported)
  • 09.0406Cultural Journalism
  • 09.0407Science/Health/Environmental Journalism
  • 09.0499Journalism, Other
  • 09.0701Radio and Television
  • 09.0904Political Communication
  • 09.0906Sports Communication
  • 09.0907International and Intercultural Communication

Common questions

Answers for people weighing news analysts, reporters, and journalists programs in Iowa.

What degree do you need to become a News Analyst?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Journalism, which awarded 149 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 58.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a News Analyst?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Journalism, Communication and Media Studies, Agricultural Public Services, Public Relations, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 254 people a year in Iowa.

How much do news analysts, reporters, and journalists earn in Iowa?+

The median is $43,540 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 30.0% below the U.S. median of $62,200. 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 news analysts, reporters, and journalists growing?+

BLS projects a -3.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 4,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+

15 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 7 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 news analysts, reporters, and journalists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Anchor, Reporter, News Anchor, News Reporter among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-3023.

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists in other statesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaPennsylvaniaNorth CarolinaIllinoisMassachusetts

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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