Civil Engineering at Iowa State University

Ames, IA · Bachelor's Degree · about 123 graduates a year

$72,502
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$85,427
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$86,517
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#112 of 233
Rank by pay
#74 of 233
Rank, wage-adjusted
$24,477
Median federal debt

Iowa State University graduates in civil engineering earn 1% less than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 29% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Iowa State University Compares for Civil Engineering

All 233 colleges reporting civil engineering earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA$108,548$98,772#8$78,142
2The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY$108,466$103,237#2—
3Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY$108,246$103,028#3—
4University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA$106,308$96,733#17$85,262
5Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA$105,594$96,084#19$84,883
6Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA$105,199$106,988#1—
7Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA$103,223$93,926#32$87,790
8California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA$101,072$91,969#42$80,673
9George Washington University Washington, DC$100,990$88,493#89—
10Northeastern University Boston, MA$100,613$88,600#87$76,362
…
109University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK$85,650$82,025#176$72,140
110Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA$85,627$99,120#7$67,552
111North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC$85,568$91,827#43$70,346
112Iowa State University Ames, IA$85,427$89,859#74$72,502
113University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK$85,332$95,808#20$67,452
114Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA$85,276$78,436#206$71,601
115Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH$85,202$90,923#56$68,031

Other Civil Engineering Credentials at Iowa State University

Credential1 yr after4 yrs afterMedian debt
Master's Degree$79,509$95,102—

Other Majors at Iowa State University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Engineering$105,753$79,182#96 of 189
Computer Science$104,211$78,517#143 of 349
Construction Engineering$100,676$77,845#8 of 13
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$99,705$84,913#111 of 258
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering$94,089$75,036#41 of 59
Business/Managerial Economics$93,379—#16 of 84
Industrial Engineering$92,914$74,310#65 of 94
Chemical Engineering$92,773$76,184#109 of 158
Agricultural Engineering$88,576$72,376#6 of 26
Management Information Systems and Services$87,413—#64 of 166
Mechanical Engineering$85,938$72,900#276 of 318
Materials Engineering$83,416$65,831#31 of 34
Computer and Information Sciences$83,267$60,397#243 of 459
Engineering-Related Fields$82,548$62,416#28 of 33
Agricultural Mechanization$78,890$63,321#1 of 10
Business Administration, Management and Operations$78,304$57,188#173 of 1176
Finance and Financial Management Services$75,360$56,974#254 of 452
Economics$75,355$57,619#224 of 368
Statistics$72,581$53,132#46 of 50
Accounting and Related Services$70,706$58,479#466 of 796
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies$69,673—#4 of 137
Architecture$69,310$54,957#31 of 78
Agricultural Business and Management$67,529$53,967#27 of 77
Chemistry$66,486$43,870#105 of 209
Marketing$66,482$48,304#262 of 516
Food Science and Technology$65,943$60,351#21 of 29
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences$65,204$50,150#47 of 138
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology$63,026$43,520#70 of 110
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication$62,965$42,530#82 of 178
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies$62,341—#8 of 19

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Iowa State University civil engineering graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $72,502 one year after graduating and $85,427 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Iowa State University rank for civil engineering?

Among 233 colleges reporting earnings for civil engineering graduates, Iowa State University ranks #112 by median pay four years after graduation, and #74 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is civil engineering at Iowa State University worth it?

Its graduates earn 1% less than the national median for civil engineering ($86,517), and the median federal debt at graduation is $24,477.

← All data for Iowa State University · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.