Start here to compare accredited trade schools near Waterloo. This guide links to programs, state licensing steps, and related career paths so you can get job-ready quickly in Iowa.
Ask each school about tuition, schedules, and embedded certifications (EPA 608, NCCER, ASE)
Compare Trade Schools Near Waterloo, Iowa
How We Rank Schools
We first gather the schools closest to the city or state page you are viewing, then rank that
local group by BOC Score, with the highest at the top. The BOC Score is computed from federal
IPEDS and College Scorecard data; schools without enough data to score appear last.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
25%
Average net price (lower is better)
20%
Retention rate
15%
Fully online availability
10%
Schools without enough federal outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC Score, tuition, graduation rate, and median graduate earnings from
federal IPEDS and U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard data. Earnings
are reported across all programs at the school (all majors), not a single
trade. Distance is measured from the main population center in Iowa.
Schools closest to the main population center in Iowa are gathered first, then ranked by BOC Score; distance from the main population center in Iowa is shown for reference.
The BOC Score is an independent measure of school outcomes (graduation,
earnings, net price, retention) expressed as a 0–100 percentile within
each school's peer group; higher is better and advertising never affects it.
*Online availability refers to coursework; hands-on trade training is
completed in person. Read the full methodology.
Median Annual Wage by Trade - Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA's most-employed tradesTrades ranked by local employment (BLS QCEW); wages are median annual pay (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; metro area where reported, otherwise statewide).
Median annual wage by trade in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
Trade
Median annual wage
Plumbers
$62,200
HVAC technicians
$60,400
Truck drivers
$58,730
Dental assistants
$47,970
Culinary workers
$44,610
Median Graduate Earnings by School - Best Trade Schools in Waterloo, IowaSource: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard - median earnings of all graduates at each school (not a single program).
Median graduate earnings by school for schools serving Best Trade Schools in Waterloo, Iowa
School
Median graduate earnings
Marshalltown Community College
$52,110
Hawkeye Community College
$49,163
Ellsworth Community College
$41,314
La James International College-Cedar Falls
$34,559
Cost, Earnings, and Program Length in Waterloo
Among the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA area’s most-employed trades (BLS QCEW 2024), median annual pay ranges from $44,610 to $62,200 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); the chart above compares the five with the largest local workforces. Typical culinary worker training runs 1-2 years (culinary school or apprenticeship) (TradeCareerPath program data).
Job growth uses state projections when available and national projections (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034) when state data is unavailable. Median pay for each trade is shown in the comparison table above.
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
Data sources
Figures on this page are sourced from the federal and state datasets below. Methodology: how we rank and source data.
Data
Provider
Vintage
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
