2025 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in Iowa

Health Professions is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 16 schools in Iowa to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of health professions. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,857 associate degrees in health professions during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Health Professions School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of health professions for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on health professions students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of health professions students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt health professions students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized health professions related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for health professions students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Health Professions Associate Degree Schools in Iowa list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Health Professions in Iowa

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in health professions.

10 Top Iowa Schools for an Associate in Health Professions

1

Kirkwood Community College
Cedar Rapids, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

351 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in health professions has to look into Kirkwood Community College. Kirkwood Community College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Cedar Rapids.More information about a associate in health professions from Kirkwood Community College

2

Des Moines Area Community College
Ankeny, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

220 Annual Graduates

Des Moines Area Community College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in health professions. DMACC is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Ankeny.More information about a associate in health professions from Des Moines Area Community College

3

Southeastern Community College
West Burlington, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

63 Annual Graduates

Southeastern Community College is a wonderful decision for students pursuing an associate degree in health professions. Southeastern Community College is a small public college located in the town of West Burlington.More information about a associate in health professions from Southeastern Community College

4

Eastern Iowa Community College District
Davenport, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

182 Annual Graduates

Eastern Iowa Community College District is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in health professions. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a moderately-sized public college located in the midsize city of Davenport.More information about a associate in health professions from Eastern Iowa Community College District

5

Iowa Central Community College
Fort Dodge, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

141 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Fort Dodge, Iowa Central Community College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in health professions from Iowa Central Community College

6

Mercy College of Health Sciences
Des Moines, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

47 Annual Graduates

Mercy College of Health Sciences is a small private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.More information about a associate in health professions from Mercy College of Health Sciences

7

Western Iowa Tech Community College
Sioux City, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

117 Annual Graduates

Western Iowa Tech Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the city of Sioux City.More information about a associate in health professions from Western Iowa Tech Community College

8

St Luke's College
Sioux City, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

49 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a associate in health professions from St Luke’s College

9

Iowa Western Community College
Council Bluffs, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

126 Annual Graduates

Iowa Western Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Council Bluffs.More information about a associate in health professions from Iowa Western Community College

10

Indian Hills Community College
Ottumwa, IA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

102 Annual Graduates

Located in the remote town of Ottumwa, IHCC is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in health professions from Indian Hills Community College

Best Health Professions Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Health Professions Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Minnesota	37	4,140
Kansas	35	1,846
Nebraska	34	941
South Dakota	32	449
Missouri	32	2,952
North Dakota	26	487

View All Rankings >

Health Professions Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Nursing	1,159
Allied Health Professions	289
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	154
Dental Support Services	139
Health & Medical Administrative Services	61
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	54
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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.