Public · Community college

Northwest Iowa Community College

Sheldon, Iowa · Remote town

#2 for grad earnings in Iowa
8%
Transfer rate
$14,800
Avg net price
58%
Grad / completion
$50,776
Median earnings

Northwest Iowa Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Sheldon, Iowa (remote town setting), enrolling 864 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 864 undergradsRemote townNJCAA Division IICold wintersSnowy

About Sheldon, Iowa

Sheldon is a city in O'Brien and Sioux counties in the U.S. state of Iowa, along the Floyd River. Sheldon was mentioned on page 13 of the Tim O'Brien book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home: "Together we watched trombones and crepe-paper floats move down mainstreet. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Remote town
Highest degree offered
Associate
To Great Lakes shore
308 miles
Nearest airport
51 miles to Sioux Falls (FSD)

How Northwest Iowa Community College compares

Graduation rate58%

Higher than 46% · #24 of 39 in Iowa

First-year retention73%

Higher than 49%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$50,776

Higher than 91% · #2 of 38 in Iowa

Average net price$14,800

Cheaper than 51% · #24 cheapest of 39 in Iowa

Median debt at graduation$9,500

Lower than 57%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment864

Larger than 71%

Percentiles compare Northwest Iowa 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

864undergrads
  • Women43250%
  • Men43250%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White73%
  • Black4.8%
  • Hispanic15%
  • Asian1.5%
  • Other or multiracial5.4%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
864
Student–faculty ratio
16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
16%
First-generation students
35%
Students over 25
15%
Median family income
$43,488
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$57,249
Endowment
$6,389,601

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$7,350
Out-of-state tuition
$7,650
Room & board
$9,310
Books & supplies
$1,312
Total cost of attendance
$20,414
Average net price
$14,800

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
58%
First-year retention
73%
Transferred to another college
8%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$49,635
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$50,776
Median debt at graduation
$9,500
Students with federal loans
13%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
66%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
58%
Low-income (Pell)
54%
First-generation
60%

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
Yes
Dorm capacity
178
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
21%
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NJCAA Division II
Varsity athletes
57 (42 men · 15 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 (2)

Soccer46
Other Sports11

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,907 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.

0.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Aggravated assault
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
$10,368
$30–48k
$11,253
$48–75k
$13,263
$75–110k
$16,573
$110k+
$19,325

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.

26%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,908
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 26% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,908. 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 261 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)
$50,776
Typical debt at graduation
$9,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
19%
Out-earn a HS grad
72%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.9 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
$37,715
Men
$63,288

Men out-earn women by $25,573 (68%) 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
83°F
Winter low
5°F
Annual rain
31.1″
Annual snow
40.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Sheldon, IA US station (1.4 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 Northwest Iowa Community College

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

Colleges near Northwest Iowa 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.