RANKING · 2020 CENSUS · 87 SHOWN OF 87

Most graduate degrees, Iowa cities · 2020

Iowa cities ranked by the share of adults 25+ holding a graduate or professional degree (2020 ACS). This list covers the 87 cities in Iowa that qualify, ranked against each other statewide.

Flip the list · Fewest graduate degrees, US cities →

IowaAll statesPop > 5KAll rankings

SAME RANKING BYCounties States Metros ZIP codes

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPGRADUATE DEGREEVS 2000

01Iowa City, IAIA76,22929.7%+1.9 pts

02Ames, IAIA68,22029.7%+1.6 pts

03Coralville, IAIA23,96027.0%+5.2 pts

04North Liberty, IAIA21,97625.8%+18.9 pts

05Clive, IAIA19,86122.9%+5.7 pts

06Asbury, IAIA6,03522.0%+13.9 pts

07Fairfield, IAIA9,22021.9%+5.3 pts

08Grinnell, IAIA9,43021.4%+10.6 pts

09Bettendorf, IAIA40,71021.3%+8.1 pts

10Cedar Falls, IAIA41,24020.5%+4.3 pts

11Decorah, IAIA7,41720.1%+8.5 pts

12Johnston, IAIA25,06519.1%+3.9 pts

13West Des Moines, IAIA74,22418.9%+4.8 pts

14Waverly, IAIA10,56116.9%+5.9 pts

15Waukee, IAIA34,89016.5%+8.3 pts

16Sioux Center, IAIA8,86415.9%+5.0 pts

17Polk City, IAIA6,63015.8%+9.8 pts

18Ankeny, IAIA77,83315.3%+4.8 pts

19Urbandale, IAIA48,57014.8%+2.0 pts

20Sergeant Bluff, IAIA5,32414.0%+8.2 pts

21Norwalk, IAIA15,00413.9%+7.0 pts

22Orange City, IAIA6,46813.7%+1.9 pts

23Pella, IAIA10,99213.2%+3.6 pts

24Grimes, IAIA17,40513.2%+5.7 pts

25Dubuque, IAIA59,14811.8%+4.0 pts

26Cherokee, IAIA5,12211.4%+7.6 pts

27Tiffin, IAIA7,15611.4%+4.5 pts

28DeWitt, IAIA5,70410.8%+6.5 pts

29Eldridge, IAIA6,95410.6%−0.0 pts

30Marion, IAIA42,73210.6%+3.9 pts

31Winterset, IAIA5,52010.3%+7.6 pts

32Adel, IAIA7,09810.2%+6.1 pts

33Clear Lake, IAIA7,60110.2%+3.5 pts

34Cedar Rapids, IAIA137,9359.9%+2.5 pts

35Indianola, IAIA16,8299.6%+2.2 pts

36Pleasant Hill, IAIA11,2399.6%+3.3 pts

37Davenport, IAIA100,3588.9%+1.8 pts

38Des Moines, IAIA212,0868.5%+2.0 pts

39Atlantic, IAIA6,6768.3%+1.5 pts

40Independence, IAIA6,3128.3%+4.3 pts

41Ottumwa, IAIA25,3198.3%+2.8 pts

42Windsor Heights, IAIA5,0598.2%−4.2 pts

43Spirit Lake, IAIA5,5258.1%+4.1 pts

44Bondurant, IAIA9,6478.0%+5.0 pts

45Nevada, IAIA6,9747.7%−1.3 pts

46Hiawatha, IAIA7,4327.5%+2.0 pts

47Mason City, IAIA26,8537.5%+1.0 pts

48Sioux City, IAIA86,3567.4%+1.1 pts

49Iowa Falls, IAIA5,0137.4%+1.6 pts

50Altoona, IAIA22,7967.3%+2.4 pts

51Webster City, IAIA7,8157.2%+2.1 pts

52Mount Pleasant, IAIA8,5007.1%+1.5 pts

53Oskaloosa, IAIA11,4937.0%+1.3 pts

54Marshalltown, IAIA27,5366.9%+1.4 pts

55Anamosa, IAIA5,9016.9%+3.7 pts

56Le Mars, IAIA10,7606.9%+2.6 pts

57Council Bluffs, IAIA62,6806.8%+2.3 pts

58Creston, IAIA7,3356.7%+3.1 pts

59Spencer, IAIA11,2186.6%+3.4 pts

60Fort Dodge, IAIA24,8376.4%+0.4 pts

61Manchester, IAIA5,3576.3%+1.7 pts

62Carroll, IAIA10,0856.3%+2.1 pts

63Boone, IAIA12,4716.2%+2.2 pts

64Oelwein, IAIA5,7576.2%+2.4 pts

65Waterloo, IAIA66,9196.1%−1.0 pts

66Glenwood, IAIA5,2876.0%+2.0 pts

67Burlington, IAIA23,3365.9%+0.2 pts

68Red Oak, IAIA5,3885.9%+2.1 pts

69Estherville, IAIA5,8075.9%+1.8 pts

70Newton, IAIA15,7415.8%−0.4 pts

71Muscatine, IAIA23,1645.8%+0.9 pts

72Storm Lake, IAIA11,5905.7%−0.2 pts

73Washington, IAIA7,2615.4%−0.7 pts

74Knoxville, IAIA7,4695.3%+2.3 pts

75Sheldon, IAIA5,5755.3%+1.2 pts

76Clinton, IAIA24,0495.2%+0.7 pts

77Clarinda, IAIA5,2735.0%−0.7 pts

78Vinton, IAIA5,0044.9%−0.9 pts

79Osceola, IAIA5,6794.9%+0.8 pts

80Maquoketa, IAIA6,0274.8%+0.7 pts

81Charles City, IAIA7,0134.6%+0.9 pts

82Fort Madison, IAIA9,9354.5%+0.7 pts

83Keokuk, IAIA9,5104.5%−0.0 pts

84Algona, IAIA5,3094.3%−0.1 pts

85Denison, IAIA8,2144.2%+1.0 pts

86Centerville, IAIA5,3274.1%+0.3 pts

87Perry, IAIA8,2081.8%−1.3 pts

SHOWING 1–87 OF 87

Download CSV (full list, 87 rows)

UPDATED 2026-08-08 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS