Iowa · Public · Predominantly associate's

Iowa Lakes Community College

Estherville, Iowa. 995 undergraduate students. 55 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.

ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS

What the data flags at Iowa Lakes Community College

Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.

COMPLETION DROP · TRENDING WORSE-23pp

150%-time completion

150%-time completion fell 23 pp at Iowa Lakes Community College vs the 2003–2007 baseline (25.8% vs 48.7%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%

3-year cohort default rate

3-year cohort default rate at Iowa Lakes Community College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (5.0% → 0.0%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-10%

150%-time completion

150%-time completion at Iowa Lakes Community College fell 10% between 2006 and 2009 (48.2% → 43.3%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER+18%

First-year retention

First-year retention at Iowa Lakes Community College rose 18% between 2021 and 2024 (51.4% → 60.9%).

SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT

The numbers, vs. Iowa

Each tile compares this institution to the Iowa median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.

MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$43,108+16% · 6→10y
Iowa median $42,849
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$37,209
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
25.8%-1% · '97→'09
Iowa median 58.4%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$7,242+357% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
995-56% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
58.4%-6% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$7,196+206% · '00→'24
out-of-state $7,644
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS

How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry

Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).

ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS

What loans cost relative to earnings

Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.

Institution-wide

2.2%
0%8% · GE20%+

Median federal debt $7,242 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $43,108 (10y after entry).

SECTION 04 · LONG ARC

Ten-plus year arc

Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.

UNDERGRAD · 19962024941
2,44092019962024
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997200943.3%
54%40%19972009
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020$12,000
$12,000$2,62519972020
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 19962024-56%

Iowa Lakes Community College · undergrad enrollment fell

2,159 → 941

IN-STATE TUITION · 20002024+206%

Iowa Lakes Community College · in-state tuition rose

$2,416 → $7,392

OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 20002024+217%

Iowa Lakes Community College · out-of-state tuition rose

$2,480 → $7,872

MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020+357%

Iowa Lakes Community College · median debt rose

$2,625 → $12,000

COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 20112024-100%

Iowa Lakes Community College · cohort default rate fell

16.1% → 0.0%

PELL SHARE · 20082024-43%

Iowa Lakes Community College · pell share fell

33.6% → 19.1%

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 20072020+26%

Iowa Lakes Community College · earnings_median_10yr rose

$34,100 → $43,108

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 20052020+32%

Iowa Lakes Community College · earnings_median_8yr rose

$31,300 → $41,398

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 20032020+30%

Iowa Lakes Community College · earnings_median_6yr rose

$28,700 → $37,209

SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS

Ranked by 5-year earnings

Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.

SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY

2 programs with earnings, grouped

Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.

LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24

HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51

FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION

Estimate the financial outcome at Iowa Lakes Community College

Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.

Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.

NET PRESENT VALUE
$43,841
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 26
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
graduationbreakeven · year 26year 0year 39
Cost per year
$10,933
HS-only baseline · IA
$36,800
Years to complete
2
CIP family
24

Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.

CAUSAL DISCIPLINE

Iowa Lakes Community College graduates earn $X” — not “Iowa Lakes Community College makes you earn $X”

Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Iowa Lakes Community College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.

Methodology →