Welcome back to the PNPI Explorer blog series, where we examine higher education data in different states. This week’s spotlight is on Iowa.

In 2021 in Iowa, there were 54 institutions serving 153,286 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. Using the Explorer’s Federal Student Debt report, we can examine borrowing patterns of students and their families at Iowa institutions by loan type. Specifically, we can see that 8.9% of undergraduate borrowers (and their parents) at private non-profit institutions received a Parent PLUS loan, compared to 7.7% of borrowers at public four-year institutions, 1.6% of borrowers at private for-profit institutions, and 0.6% of borrowers at public two-year institutions.

Using the Explorer’s  Comparison Tool, we can see whether Parent PLUS borrowing rates for Iowa institutions are higher or lower than in other states. When looking across all institutional sectors, we see that Iowa is above the national Parent PLUS loan borrowing rate (4.6% compared to 3.9%), but is close to the 50th percentile relative to all other states.

Given some concerns about relatively high borrowing rates through the Parent PLUS program, it is important to look at repayment outcomes. Turning again to the Comparison Tool, we can see that default rates among Parent PLUS borrowers in Iowa are some of the lowest in the country at 2.5% compared to 5.9% nationally.

Find something interesting about Iowa that you would like to share with us? Drop us a note via our feedback page or discuss your findings on LinkedIn! Check back next week when we explore data insights about Kansas.

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