Cities in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Ames, IA had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 41 cities in 2022, at 62.8%. Storm Lake, IA had the lowest, at 18.1%. The median was 32.6% and the figure for Iowa was 30.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest62.8Ames, IA

Lowest18.1Storm Lake, IA

Median32.641 cities

Iowa30.3History

All cities, 2022

%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2022 (%)	Change on 2021
1	Ames, IA	62.8	+1.4 pts
2	Iowa City, IA	59.8	-0 pts
3	Clive, IA	59.5	-0.3 pts
4	Coralville, IA	58.9	-1 pts
5	Waukee, IA	58.8	+2.5 pts
6	North Liberty, IA	55.1	+1.7 pts
7	Johnston, IA	54.4	-0.2 pts
8	West Des Moines, IA	53.8	+0.1 pts
9	Ankeny, IA	53	+1.5 pts
10	Urbandale, IA	51.9	+1.2 pts
11	Bettendorf, IA	51.7	+0.6 pts
12	Cedar Falls, IA	49.1	+0.4 pts
13	Pella, IA	47.9	+2.9 pts
14	Grimes, IA	43.6	+1.3 pts
15	Waverly, IA	40.8	-1.3 pts
16	Norwalk, IA	39.1	-1 pts
17	Marion, IA	37.6	+0.8 pts
18	Indianola, IA	33.1	+0.6 pts
19	Dubuque, IA	33.1	-0.1 pts
20	Cedar Rapids, IA	32.9	0 pts
21	Altoona, IA	32.6	+2.9 pts
22	Pleasant Hill, IA	31.1	-0.1 pts
23	Des Moines, IA	28.7	+0.6 pts
24	Davenport, IA	28.6	+1.5 pts
25	Spencer, IA	27.6	+3.4 pts
26	Le Mars, IA	26.5	+0.6 pts
27	Carroll, IA	24.3	-0.2 pts
28	Oskaloosa, IA	23.9	+1.1 pts
29	Waterloo, IA	22.9	+0.3 pts
30	Boone, IA	22.8	+0.8 pts
31	Sioux City, IA	22.6	+0.9 pts
32	Burlington, IA	21.5	+1 pts
33	Council Bluffs, IA	21.4	+1.1 pts
34	Muscatine, IA	21.4	+1.1 pts
35	Fort Dodge, IA	20.8	+1.3 pts
36	Mason City, IA	20.7	-0.1 pts
37	Clinton, IA	20.2	+0.3 pts
38	Ottumwa, IA	19.3	-0.3 pts
39	Marshalltown, IA	19.3	+0.2 pts
40	Newton, IA	18.2	+1.6 pts
41	Storm Lake, IA	18.1	-1 pts

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/iowa-cities?period=2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/iowa-cities?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/iowa-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_iowa_by_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/iowa-cities?period=2022. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/iowa-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/bachelors-degree-or-higher/iowa-cities?period=2022.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which city has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Ames, IA, with 62.8% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Storm Lake, IA, with 18.1% in 2022.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.