Des Moines, IA (population: 200,202) has one engineering school within its city limits. Vatterott College has a total student population of 558. It is the 2017th highest ranked school in the USA and the 34th highest in the state of Iowa (#1 is Luther College).
Engineering students from Des Moines schools who go on to become engineers, audio engineers, aerospace engineers, automotive engineers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 2,412,730 people working as architecture and engineering employees alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $73,590. Also, Aerospace engineers make on average $96,270 per year and there are about 70,570 of them employed in the US today.
Des Moines lies in Polk county, which is one of the 52 counties in Iowa. Overall, the Des Moines-West Des Moines area has 322,000 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $20/hr average worker wage, and a $42,120 average annual salary.
After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Vatterott College ends up costing a student $18,273/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Des Moines |
| Urbandale | IA | - | 1 | 15.697 | 16 | 5.8 miles |
| West Des Moines | IA | 57,065 | 1 | 4.37611 | 3 | 6.8 miles |
| Ankeny | IA | 45,142 | 2 | 40.688 | 102 | 9.7 miles |
| Ames | IA | 58,120 | 1 | 34.322 | 6 | 30.4 miles |
| Fort Dodge | IA | - | 2 | 25.3587 | 65 | 69.4 miles |
| Cedar Falls | IA | - | 3 | 27.7287 | 174 | 88.8 miles |
| Waterloo | IA | 67,011 | 3 | 23.0675 | 66 | 90.7 miles |