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Des Moines, Iowa has 2 accredited schools offering forensic science programs, with tuition ranging from $10,787 to $47,656 per year for indexed programs. Des Moines has a population of about 212,464. Median household income is $63,966 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 29.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area, the top-earning forensic science-related role is Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer at a median $81,810 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer forensic science programs near Des Moines, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Des Moines city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
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:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Des Moines. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Iowa schools on the Iowa forensic science page.
Des Moines is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area (BLS area code 19780). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Iowa statewide.
| Occupation | Median Wage | Source | COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forensic Science Technician | $71,160 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $77,601 |
| Detective and Criminal Investigator | $79,560 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $86,761 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer | $81,810 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $89,215 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 212,464 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $63,966 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 29.0% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) | 91.7 (below U.S. average) | BEA RPP 2024 |
Our directory has 2 accredited schools offering forensic science programs near Des Moines. The closest is Simpson College in Indianola, IA (14.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Iowa State University (31.4 miles). 2 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying forensic science-related roles near Des Moines are: Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer ($81,810), Detective and Criminal Investigator ($79,560), Forensic Science Technician ($71,160). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Iowa statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
West Des Moines, IA is 8.9 miles from Des Moines and has its own set of local forensic science programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Des Moines’s median household income of $63,966 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Des Moines while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Iowa public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Des Moines:
Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
Back to Best Forensic Science Schools in Iowa: Online Programs (2026)
