Best Preschool Teacher programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment
Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual.
23 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 241 people a year. The job pays a median of $33,830 in Iowa across about 5,910 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.
3 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 | Early Childhood Education and Teachingmain feeder CIP 13.1210In Iowa → | 184 | 76.3% | 16 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1401In Iowa → | 33 | 13.7% | 5 | $36,305 | $26,250 |
| 3 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levelsmain feeder CIP 13.1206In Iowa → | 24 | 10.0% | 4 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
Top 23 schools in Iowa
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 23 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern College Orange City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 61 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $42,441 | 66% | $22,419 | 80% |
| 2 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 50 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $42,790 | 68% | — | 93% |
| 3 | Southeastern Community College West Burlington, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 43% | — | — |
| 4 | Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $45,512 | 75% | — | 89% |
| 5 | Morningside University Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor | — | 50% | $22,816 | 71% |
| 6 | Southwestern Community College Creston, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 59% | — | — |
| 7 | Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levels | $42,756 | 62% | $23,073 | 80% |
| 8 | Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $41,178 | 61% | $21,680 | 77% |
| 9 | Dordt University Sioux Center, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levels | $39,749 | 70% | $24,569 | 68% |
| 10 | Simpson College Indianola, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levels | $42,760 | 63% | $20,710 | 86% |
| 11 | Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 42% | — | — |
| 12 | Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor | — | 62% | $17,609 | 78% |
| 13 | Hawkeye Community College Waterloo, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 43% | — | — |
| 14 | Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $41,802 | 34% | $22,697 | 96% |
| 15 | Waldorf University Forest City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 21% | $22,328 | 77% |
| 16 | Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary Ankeny, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 68% | $18,510 | 68% |
| 17 | Indian Hills Community College Ottumwa, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 40% | — | — |
| 18 | North Iowa Area Community College Mason City, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 61% | — | — |
| 19 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levels | $45,015 | 75% | — | 84% |
| 20 | Western Iowa Tech Community College Sioux City, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 50% | — | — |
| 21 | Eastern Iowa Community College District Davenport, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 45% | — | — |
| 22 | Emmaus Bible College Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor | — | 83% | $13,586 | 60% |
| 23 | Marshalltown Community College Marshalltown, IA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 42% | — | — |
All 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern College | Orange City | Private not-for-profit | 61 | 1 |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls | Public | 50 | 2 |
| Southeastern Community College | West Burlington | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Iowa State University | Ames | Public | 17 | 2 |
| Morningside University | Sioux City | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Southwestern Community College | Creston | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Cornell College | Mount Vernon | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Saint Ambrose University | Davenport | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Dordt University | Sioux Center | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Simpson College | Indianola | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Iowa Central Community College | Fort Dodge | Public | 5 | 1 |
| Buena Vista University | Storm Lake | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Hawkeye Community College | Waterloo | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Upper Iowa University | Fayette | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Waldorf University | Forest City | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
What preschool teachers earn in Iowa
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $38,140. Iowa pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Iowa employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
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 Preschool Teachers page.
How to become a Preschool Teacher
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
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 Preschool Teachers10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.0201Bilingual and Multilingual Education
- 13.1206Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
- 13.1207Montessori Teacher Education
- 13.1208Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education(no graduates reported)
- 13.1209Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching
- 13.1210Early Childhood Education and Teaching
- 13.1212International Teaching and Learning
- 13.1401Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
- 13.1402Teaching French as a Second or Foreign Language(no graduates reported)
- 13.1499Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Other
- 19.0706Child Development
- 19.0708Child Care and Support Services Management
Common questions
Answers for people weighing preschool teachers programs in Iowa.
What degree do you need to become a Preschool Teacher?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Early Childhood Education and Teaching, which awarded 184 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 76.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Preschool Teacher?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Teacher Education and Professional Development, Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. Together they graduate about 241 people a year in Iowa.
How much do preschool teachers earn in Iowa?+
The median is $33,830 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.3% below the U.S. median of $38,140. 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 preschool teachers growing?+
BLS projects a +4.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 65,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+
23 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 preschool teachers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Teacher, Toddler Teacher, Montessori Preschool Teacher, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher (Pre-K Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2011.
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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