Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Iowa
Key takeaway: 35 of the 46 Iowa-based institutions in our directory that offer at least one fully online program report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024). 15 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is Allen College. The Census Bureau records 2 military installations in Iowa (1 Army, 1 Other), and 24 Iowa cities have their own page below.
Military-friendly online colleges based in Iowa
Ranked by BOC Score, which weights graduation rate, median earnings, net price, retention, and online availability from federal data. The tags on each card are the school’s own answers on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey: credit for military training, a dedicated military contact, DoD MOU membership, and a recognized student veteran organization.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
94%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$71,261
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
74%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$63,386
Avg net price
$18,589/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 88%
- Programs offered: 169
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
78%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$42,631
Avg net price
$13,186/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 77%
- Programs offered: 11
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
72%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$64,762
Avg net price
$22,531/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 90%
- Programs offered: 199
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
78%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$71,901
Avg net price
$29,127/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 84%
- Programs offered: 80
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
93%
Graduation rate
68%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$55,177
Avg net price
$15,901/yr
TuitionIn‑state$9,936
Out‑of‑state$21,712
Key stats
- Retention rate: 83%
- Programs offered: 116
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
68%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$58,289
Avg net price
$20,716/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 83%
- Programs offered: 40
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
83%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$37,008
Avg net price
$26,439/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
77%
Graduation rate
62%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,531
Avg net price
$24,691/yr
TuitionIn‑state$36,658
Out‑of‑state$36,658
Key stats
- Retention rate: 80%
- Programs offered: 59
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
72%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$52,559
Avg net price
$25,807/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 85%
- Programs offered: 82
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
62%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$60,787
Avg net price
$20,168/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 71%
- Programs offered: 48
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
74%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$62,234
Avg net price
$26,924/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 59%
- Programs offered: 10
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
68%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$56,201
Avg net price
$32,908/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 78%
- Programs offered: 37
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
60%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$52,824
Avg net price
$21,774/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 72%
- Programs offered: 53
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
66%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$27,981
Avg net price
$14,956/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 63%
- Programs offered: 22
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Military installations in Iowa
The Census Bureau’s 2024 TIGER/Line military layer records 2 installations in Iowa (1 Army, 1 Other, branch inferred from the recorded name). The largest by land area are listed; city pages show the ones within 100 miles of each city, with distances.
- Iowa Army Ammunition Plnt
- Des Moins Iap
Common post-service careers in Iowa
Statewide median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 OEWS).
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
| Information Security Analysts |
$119,710 |
IA statewide |
| Logisticians |
$78,740 |
IA statewide |
| Emergency Management Directors |
$73,700 |
IA statewide |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$74,470 |
IA statewide |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$101,940 |
IA statewide |
| Project Management Specialists |
$96,540 |
IA statewide |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$84,500 |
IA statewide |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$99,010 |
IA statewide |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; these are statewide medians.
What the four services mean
- Credit for military training (IPEDS VET2): the institution reports that it awards academic credit for military training, typically evaluated through the Joint Services Transcript. How much credit applies is set program by program.
- Dedicated military contact (VET3): a named point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families.
- DoD MOU member (VET5): the institution has signed the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding, a requirement for participating in service education programs.
- Student veteran org (VET4): a recognized student veteran organization on the institution’s records.
Of the 35 schools in Iowa that meet this page’s two-service definition, 15 report all four. All 35 are fully online by the IPEDS DISTPGS flag, as is every school on the national military-friendly online colleges list; the state view differs only in where the institution is based.
Military-friendly online colleges near Iowa cities
- Ames, IA
- Ankeny, IA
- Bettendorf, IA
- Burlington, IA
- Cedar Falls, IA
- Cedar Rapids, IA
- Clinton, IA
- Coralville, IA
- Council Bluffs, IA
- Davenport, IA
- Des Moines, IA
- Dubuque, IA
- Fort Dodge, IA
- Iowa City, IA
- Johnston, IA
- Marion, IA
- Marshalltown, IA
- Mason City, IA
- Muscatine, IA
- Ottumwa, IA
- Sioux City, IA
- Urbandale, IA
- Waterloo, IA
- West Des Moines, IA
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
