Private nonprofit · College

Allen College

Waterloo, Iowa · Small city

#2 for grad earnings in Iowa
Admit rate
Avg net price
Graduation rate
$71,261
Median earnings

Allen College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Waterloo, Iowa (small city setting), enrolling 261 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 261 undergradsSmall cityCold wintersSnowy

About Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. Waterloo was originally known as Prairie Rapids Crossing. The town was established near two Meskwaki American tribal seasonal camps alongside the Cedar River. The Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens is a 40-acre (16 ha) public garden located directly east of Hawkeye Community College. Admission is $5/adult and $2/child, under five and members are free. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To Great Lakes shore
228 miles
Nearest airport
4 miles to Waterloo (ALO)

How Allen College compares

Earnings, 10 years after entry$71,261

Higher than 84% · #2 of 31 in Iowa

Median debt at graduation$18,750

Lower than 81%

Student–faculty ratio8 : 1

Lower than 89%

Undergraduate enrollment261

Larger than 15%

Percentiles compare Allen College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Iowa.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

483students
  • Undergraduate26154%
  • Graduate22246%

Undergraduates by gender

261undergrads
  • Women23189%
  • Men3011%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White77%
  • Black1.1%
  • Hispanic1.5%
  • Asian1.1%
  • Other or multiracial19%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
261
Graduate enrollment
222
Student–faculty ratio
8 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
24%
First-generation students
Students over 25
16%
Median family income
$56,247
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$73,827
Endowment
$10,953,441

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Outcomes

Graduated
First-year retention
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$65,078
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$71,261
Median debt at graduation
$18,750
Students with federal loans
68%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
81%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

Low-income (Pell)
60%
First-generation
66%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$50

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (483 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.0reported offenses a year
0.7 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
0.3
Aggravated assault
0.3
Motor vehicle theft
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$71,261
Typical debt at graduation
$18,750
Debt vs. one year's pay
26%
Out-earn a HS grad
91%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$67,644
Men
$83,301

Men out-earn women by $15,657 (23%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
85°F
Winter low
11°F
Annual rain
36.3″
Annual snow
39.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.95.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Waterloo Muni AP, IA US station (3.5 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Allen College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Allen College side by side →

Colleges near Allen College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.