Public · Community college

Hawkeye Community College

Waterloo, Iowa · Fringe rural

#5 for grad earnings in Iowa
13%
Transfer rate
$9,649
Avg net price
43%
Grad / completion
$42,849
Median earnings

Hawkeye Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Waterloo, Iowa (fringe rural setting), enrolling 2,626 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,626 undergradsFringe ruralNJCAA Division IICold 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
Fringe rural
Highest degree offered
Associate
To Great Lakes shore
229 miles
Nearest airport
9 miles to Waterloo (ALO)

How Hawkeye Community College compares

Graduation rate43%

Higher than 30% · #32 of 39 in Iowa

First-year retention63%

Higher than 29%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,849

Higher than 79% · #5 of 38 in Iowa

Average net price$9,649

Cheaper than 72% · #6 cheapest of 39 in Iowa

Median debt at graduation$12,000

Lower than 29%

Student–faculty ratio13 : 1

Lower than 67%

Undergraduate enrollment2,626

Larger than 84%

Percentiles compare Hawkeye Community College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Iowa.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

2,626undergrads
  • Women1,40353%
  • Men1,22347%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White71%
  • Black10%
  • Hispanic7.4%
  • Asian2.0%
  • Other or multiracial9.6%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
2,626
Student–faculty ratio
13 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
22%
First-generation students
36%
Students over 25
14%
Median family income
$37,546
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$58,077
Endowment
$4,623,257

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

Where students come from

Home state of the 873 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Iowa96%
  • Other U.S. states1.0%
  • International2.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Hawkeye Community College draws overwhelmingly from Iowa.

3% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
$6,525
Out-of-state tuition
$6,612
Room & board
Books & supplies
$795
Total cost of attendance
$14,901
Average net price
$9,649

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
43%
First-year retention
63%
Transferred to another college
13%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$39,099
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$42,849
Median debt at graduation
$12,000
Students with federal loans
23%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
40%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
43%
Low-income (Pell)
24%
First-generation
24%

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
Free
Athletics
NJCAA Division II
Varsity athletes
344 (193 men · 151 women)

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%.

Varsity sports (9)

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)63
Soccer61
Other Sports54
Wrestling48
Rifle31
Golf27
Softball23
Bowling23
Volleyball14

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
3
Property offenses (2022–2024)
2

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 6 campuses (5,120 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.

1.7reported offenses a year
1.0 violent a year0.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
0.7
Aggravated assault
0.7
Fondling
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.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$7,443
$30–48k
$8,151
$48–75k
$8,859
$75–110k
$10,316
$110k+
$13,016

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

37%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,720
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 37% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,720. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 717 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

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

Median earnings (10 years)
$42,849
Typical debt at graduation
$12,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
28%
Out-earn a HS grad
57%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

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
$36,615
Men
$51,165

Men out-earn women by $14,550 (40%) 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 (9.3 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 Hawkeye Community College

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

Colleges near Hawkeye Community 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.