Health and Medical Administrative Services at Northeast Iowa Community College

The small graduating cohort here makes these numbers less reliable, but the pattern is striking: Northeast Iowa Community College certificate holders earn nearly $37,000 their first year—that's $9,000 above the national median and about $4,900 more than Iowa's typical program. Only Des Moines Area Community College edges it out among Iowa schools, and that by less than $1,000.

The debt load of $20,500 sits above the state median but remains manageable relative to earnings—graduates need about seven months of gross income to cover it. That's a reasonable trade when you're starting at the 95th percentile nationally for this credential. The certificate delivers immediate earning power in a field where most programs cluster around $28,000-$32,000 in first-year wages.

The caveat matters: with fewer than 30 graduates in the data, a few high earners could skew the picture significantly. But if these results hold across cohorts, this program punches well above its weight. For families in northeast Iowa looking at quick healthcare credentials, the combination of strong local earnings and moderate debt makes this worth serious consideration—just recognize you're looking at preliminary data rather than an established track record.