2026 Best Value Pharmacy Schools in Iowa
[Pharmacy](/majors/health-care-professions/pharmacy-pharmaceutical-sciences/pharmacy/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools to find the best return on investment for pharmacy students.
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2026 Best Value Pharmacy Schools in Iowa
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in pharmacy, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Pharmacy Schools
Leading the list is University Of Iowa, our #1 best value for pharmacy in Iowa. Set in the city of Iowa City, University Of Iowa is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $11,283, with out-of-state students paying around $33,371. Typical student debt for pharmacy graduates is $24,463. Pharmacy graduates of University Of Iowa earn a median of $83,848 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $24,463 median debt. University Of Iowa admits about 84% of applicants.
Drake University came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the best value pharmacy schools. Set in the city of Des Moines, Drake University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $51,960. Students borrow a median of $23,000 to complete the pharmacy program here. Pharmacy graduates of Drake University earn a median of $56,228 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 64%.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
