CNA Classes in Iowa: Programs, Costs, and State Requirements
Iowa gives you a genuinely statewide field to choose from: 34 state-approved CNA programs spread across 27 cities, with Cedar Rapids and West Des Moines each leading at three. That ranks Iowa #42 of 50 by program count, a smaller list but a genuinely statewide one, and the median CNA here earns $18.92 an hour, about 6.4% below the national median of $20.21 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Whatever your city or budget, an approved program is likely within reach.
AT A GLANCE
Your Iowa CNA path
Four steps from interest to certification. Most students complete this in 6–8 weeks.
- Step 1.Complete 75 hours of approved training.
- Step 2.Finish the required number of supervised clinical hours.
- Step 3.Pass the Headmaster written and skills exam.
- Step 4.Get listed with the Iowa Nurse Aide Registry.
Key numbers before you compare programs
- Typical program length
- 2–8 weeks
- Typical paid program cost
- $595–$1,500
- Average CNA salary
- $39,350/yr (BLS, May 2025)
- Reciprocity accepted
- Yes, with conditions
Start with what matters most to you.
Five paths through this page. Pick the one that matches your situation.
- I need the best value.See programs with high reviews & affordable tuition.
- I need to finish fast.Explore accelerated, hybrid, or condensed-schedule options.
- I need financial assistance.Find courses offering payment plans or grants.
- I need flexible class hours.See evening, weekend, and hybrid CNA program options.
All 34 state-approved Iowa CNA programs
Sort by cost, length, format, or city. Filter with the chips above the table. Click any row to expand full address, phone, clinical site, and next cohort.
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| Program | City | Format | Length | Total Cost | Sponsored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) | Ankeny | Hybrid | 75 hrs | $770 | ||
| Iowa Western Community College | Council Bluffs | In-person | 76 hrs | $595 | ||
| Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) | Davenport | Hybrid | 4 wk | Contact school | ||
| Iowa Central Community College | Fort Dodge | In-person | 76 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids | In-person | 75 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Cass Health | Atlantic | In-person | 76 hrs | Free | ||
| DID School of Careers | Iowa City | In-person | 3 wk | $1,000 | ||
| Health Tech Associates | West Des Moines | In-person | 75 hrs | $895 | ||
| Humboldt County Memorial Hospital | Humboldt | In-person | 86 hrs | Free | ||
| Iowa Lakes Community College | Emmetsburg | In-person | 76 hrs | $1,079 | ||
| Iowa Valley Community College District | Marshalltown | In-person | 76 hrs | $959 | ||
| Mercy College of Health Sciences | Des Moines | In-person | 3 wk | $1,500 | ||
| Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) – Calmar | Calmar | Hybrid | 80 hrs | $899 | ||
| Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) – Peosta | Peosta | Hybrid | 80 hrs | $899 | ||
| Signature Healthcare | Waukee | In-person | 75 hrs | $865 | ||
| Stone Healthcare Academy | Ankeny | In-person | 75 hrs | $750 | ||
| Western Iowa Tech Community College | Sioux City | In-person | 75 hrs | $880 | ||
| AM Training Institute | West Des Moines | Hybrid | 75 hrs | Contact school | ||
| American Institute of Caring | West Des Moines | In-person | 2 wk | Contact school | ||
| Hawkeye Community College | Waterloo | Hybrid | 8 wk | Contact school | ||
| HeartCert | Cedar Rapids | Hybrid | 88 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Ignite Pathways | Woodbine | In-person | 76 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Indian Hills Community College | Ottumwa | In-person | 3 wk | Contact school | ||
| Iowa Veterans Home | Marshalltown | In-person | 76 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Maquoketa Community High School | Maquoketa | N/A | 75 hrs | Contact school | ||
| North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) | Mason City | Hybrid | 100 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Northwest Iowa Community College | Sheldon | In-person | 76 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Pella Regional Health Center | Pella | In-person | 75 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Prairie View | Sanborn | In-person | 75 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Saint Luke's Traditional Care Center | Cedar Rapids | In-person | 5 wk | Contact school | ||
| Southeastern Community College | West Burlington | In-person | 88 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Southwestern Community College | Creston | In-person | 6 mo | Contact school | ||
| Sunrise Retirement Community | Sioux City | In-person | 75 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Traditions Memory Care | Newton | In-person | 75 hrs | Contact school |
Still comparing? Let us narrow the list.
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Sponsored Ad. No obligation.Sponsored matching: we earn a referral fee if you enroll through a match. This does not change the 34 programs shown in the directory above.
Fastest CNA programs in Iowa
Iowa requires at least 75 hours of training, the federal baseline, and that requirement is the steady anchor for “how long will this take.” Many Iowa programs, especially community colleges and technical colleges, list their calendar as “contact school” rather than a fixed number of weeks, so the 75-hour requirement is the most reliable thing to plan around. Every approved program in the state builds from that same minimum and points toward the same Headmaster exam.
| Program | City | Length | Total Cost | Sponsored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Institute of Caring | West Des Moines | 2 wk | Contact school | ||
| Stone Healthcare Academy | Ankeny | 75 hrs | $750 | ||
| Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) | Ankeny | 75 hrs | $770 | ||
| Signature Healthcare | Waukee | 75 hrs | $865 | ||
| Western Iowa Tech Community College | Sioux City | 75 hrs | $880 | ||
| Health Tech Associates | West Des Moines | 75 hrs | $895 | ||
| Pella Regional Health Center | Pella | 75 hrs | Contact school | ||
| Prairie View | Sanborn | 75 hrs | Contact school |
Schedules verified June 18, 2026, sourced from each program’s published calendar.
Is a 2-week CNA program in Iowa long enough?
On the calendar, the shortest path in Iowa runs about two weeks, like the American Institute of Caring in West Des Moines, while other approved programs stretch to roughly eight. Every one of them meets the same 75-hour requirement and sits for the same Headmaster written and skills exam; the difference is how tightly those hours are packed into your weeks.
A two-week intensive front-loads training into full days, which fits if you can clear your schedule for a short, concentrated stretch. A longer course spreads the same requirement across more weeks, which is easier to manage alongside a job or family but moves your finish date out.
Faster is not automatically better, and it is not lighter either. A compressed calendar simply leaves fewer days between learning a skill and demonstrating it on the Headmaster skills test. If you absorb material best through repetition, a program that runs closer to eight weeks can give you more reps before exam day. Match the timeline to how you actually learn, not just to the shortest number of weeks.
WANT TO START SOON?
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Sponsored Ad. No obligation.Online, hybrid, weekend & evening CNA programs in Iowa
DMACC in Ankeny runs its CNA course in a hybrid format, and it is a good model for how flexibility actually works in Iowa. You handle the classroom theory online or self-paced, then complete the skills lab and clinical hours in person, because that hands-on part cannot be done from a screen. Online-only CNA training is not offered anywhere in the state. When an Iowa program advertises “online CNA classes,” it means the coursework can be completed online, not the patient-care practice that the Headmaster skills test will check.
| Program | City | Format | Length | Total Cost | Sponsored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) | Ankeny | Hybrid | 75 hrs | $770 | ||
| Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) – Calmar | Calmar | Hybrid | 80 hrs | $899 |
Format and schedule options verified June 18, 2026. Confirm current online, hybrid, evening, and weekend availability with each program.
Which flexible format is right for working adults?
Iowa’s flexible options run through hybrid programs, and the directory shows them at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny and Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. Hybrid is the format doing the real work for busy students here: lectures and reading move to your own time, and you reserve campus trips for the skills and clinical sessions that have to happen in person.
The benefit is fewer trips to campus; the catch is self-discipline. Online coursework only helps if you keep pace with it on your own, and you still have to schedule the in-person hours around your week. A program that looks flexible on paper still asks you to show up for the hands-on training, and in Iowa that part is never optional.
Think about which constraint is actually yours. If your problem is daytime hours, a hybrid course at DMACC lets you do theory at night and save in-person days for clinicals. If your problem is distance, Northeast Iowa Community College’s hybrid course in Calmar can cut a northeastern-Iowa student’s campus trips down to the sessions that genuinely cannot be skipped. Either way you are meeting the same 75-hour requirement, just on a calendar that bends to your life.
NEED FLEXIBLE HOURS?
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Sponsored Ad. No obligation.Cheapest CNA programs in Iowa
Cost in Iowa spans a wide range, from $0 at a couple of employer-sponsored programs up to about $1,500 at the high end. Fifteen of the 34 programs report a verified tuition, and among those the paid floor sits at $595 at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs. With that many real numbers on the page, you can compare instead of guess, so the sharper question is not “what is cheapest” but “what gives you the most for what you pay.”
| Program | City | Length | Total Cost | Sponsored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Western Community College | Council Bluffs | 76 hrs | $595 | ||
| Stone Healthcare Academy | Ankeny | 75 hrs | $750 | ||
| Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) | Ankeny | 75 hrs | $770 | ||
| Signature Healthcare | Waukee | 75 hrs | $865 | ||
| Western Iowa Tech Community College | Sioux City | 75 hrs | $880 | ||
| Health Tech Associates | West Des Moines | 75 hrs | $895 | ||
| Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) – Calmar | Calmar | 80 hrs | $899 | ||
| Iowa Valley Community College District | Marshalltown | 76 hrs | $959 |
Costs verified June 18, 2026, sourced from each program’s published tuition materials.
Is the cheapest CNA program always the best value in Iowa?
Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs sets the paid floor at $595, and it is a useful reference point: a community college course you can take and then carry to any employer you choose. The no-cost options sit at the other end of the structure, employer-sponsored, where a facility covers training in exchange for a commitment to work there after you certify.
Price is only one line in the decision. A program in Sioux City through Western Iowa Tech Community College, or one in Marshalltown through Iowa Valley Community College District, may list a different tuition than a course in the Des Moines suburbs, and the closest approved program is not always the lowest one on paper.
Look at the whole picture: tuition, the books a program requires, and the $175 state exam every Iowa candidate pays Headmaster. The best value is the program where those numbers line up with your situation, not simply the one with the smallest tuition figure.
COST A PRIORITY?
Looking for affordable training?
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Sponsored Ad. No obligation.Free & employer-sponsored CNA training in Iowa
Iowa has two no-cost CNA programs, and both are employer-sponsored rather than scholarships: a facility covers your training in exchange for a commitment to work there after you certify. There is no separate free or government-funded program to name here, but if a work commitment fits your plans, an employer-sponsored route is worth a look before you pay tuition anywhere.
Iowa’s two no-cost options are employer-sponsored, and an employer funds a seat to staff its own floors, so there is rarely a second free source to add on top of one. Ask the program directly how its funding works before you count on combining two.
What’s the catch with free CNA training in Iowa?
Iowa’s two no-cost programs are employer-sponsored, which means the money you skip up front is repaid in hours worked. A care facility pays for your training because it needs certified aides, and in return you agree to work there for a set period once you pass. That is a fair arrangement if you already want a job with that employer, and a limiting one if you want to keep your options open.
Weigh the commitment against your own plans. If an employer-sponsored program is near you and you are happy to work there after certifying, the trade can be close to ideal. If you would rather stay free to take any job after you pass, including a hospital role, where Iowa CNAs earn a median of $19.87 an hour, a modestly priced course like Iowa Western Community College’s $595 program in Council Bluffs keeps you tied to no single employer.
For other help with cost, the realistic path in Iowa is an affordable paid program plus whatever support you qualify for. A local workforce or WIOA office can point you toward options in your area, and the Iowa Nurse Aide Registry can confirm which programs are state-approved before you enroll. The honest headline is simple: the low-cost route here is a reasonably priced course, with a couple of employer-sponsored programs as the no-cost alternative.
CNA salary in Iowa
BLS wage data for Iowa and its top 3 metros.
Iowa pays its CNAs a median of $18.92 an hour, about $39,350 a year, which lands roughly 6.4% below the national median of $20.21 and ranks the state #30 of 50 for CNA pay (BLS OEWS, May 2025). It is an honest middle-of-the-pack number rather than a headline, and where you work in Iowa moves it more than you might expect. Entry-level roles start near $17.13 an hour at the 10th percentile.
Pay by setting in Iowa
| Setting | Median hourly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | $19.87/hr | Estimated from the state wage distribution |
| Skilled nursing / SNF | $18.92/hr | Estimated |
| Assisted living / residential | $17.60/hr | Estimated |
Setting figures are estimated from the verified Iowa wage distribution (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (Nursing Assistants, 31-1131), Iowa, May 2025); actual pay varies by employer.
The setting you work in is what shifts that median most. In Iowa, assisted-living and residential-care roles sit near the bottom at about $17.60 an hour, skilled-nursing facilities pay around the state median of $18.92, and hospitals pay the most at roughly $19.87. At the top of the range, the 90th percentile reaches $23.07 an hour. None of these are headline wages, but the gap between an assisted-living role and a hospital role is a meaningful difference, so it is worth knowing which setting you are signing into before you accept an Iowa offer.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), occupation 31-1131. Cost-of-living differential: Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2024).
NEXT STEP
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What makes CNA training in Iowa different
State-specific context (hours, exam vendor, and funding density) now that you’ve seen the options.
TRAINING HOURS
75 hours minimum
Iowa sets its CNA training requirement at 75 hours, matching the federal minimum under OBRA '87.
EXAM VENDOR
Headmaster (TMU)
Iowa's written and skills tests run through Headmaster, LLC, for a total exam cost of $175.
MEDIAN PAY
$18.92/hr
Iowa's median CNA wage, about $39,350 a year and #30 of 50 nationally (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Training hours: 75, the federal minimum
Iowa requires at least 75 hours of state-approved training, which matches the federal floor set under OBRA '87 (42 CFR 483.152). That makes Iowa's requirement an efficient baseline rather than a heavy one, though programs can and do run longer. The hours are a minimum every approved program meets, not a fixed length, so a two-week course and a longer one both clear the same bar before the exam.
One exam vendor statewide: Headmaster
Every Iowa candidate certifies through the same competency exam, administered by Headmaster, LLC (TestMaster Universe, or TMU). It pairs a written test with a hands-on skills test, and the total exam cost is $175. Because the exam is the same no matter which approved program you attend, the program you pick changes your schedule and price, not the standard you are measured against at the end.
Staying active on the Iowa registry
Passing the competency tests places you automatically on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry, and there is no registry renewal fee. Your certification itself does not expire, but registry-active status lapses if you do not work at least 8 paid hours as a nurse aide in qualifying long-term care within each 24-month window. Keeping active is about logging qualifying hours, not paying a fee.
Bottom line for Iowa students
Iowa offers a statewide field of 34 approved programs, one shared 75-hour minimum and Headmaster exam, and a median wage of $18.92 an hour, so choose on fit, cost, and location.
CNA classes by city in Iowa
Iowa’s 34 programs reach 27 cities, so your shortlist really does depend on where you live. Cedar Rapids and West Des Moines lead with three programs each, Marshalltown, Sioux City, and Ankeny follow with two apiece, and smaller communities from Atlantic to Pella to Woodbine each carry one.
Top 10 Iowa metros by program count
- Cedar Rapids3 programs
- West Des Moines3 programs
- Marshalltown2 programs
- Sioux City2 programs
- Ankeny2 programs
- Atlantic1 programs
- Humboldt1 programs
- Pella1 programs
- Sanborn1 programs
- Newton1 programs
Iowa Nurse Aide Registry: contacts & reference
The Iowa Nurse Aide Registry, run by the Department of Inspections (DIAL), handles certification status, the Direct Care Worker Registry listing, and reciprocity questions. Their contact details are below.
| Managing agency | Department of Inspections |
|---|---|
| Phone | (515) 381-7835 |
| Website | dial.iowa.gov |
| Typical processing | N/A |
| Renewal window | Every 24 months; At least 8 paid hours as a nurse aide |
| Fee structure | No registry renewal fee; placement on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry is automatic on passing the competency tests. Certification does not expire, but registry-active status lapses if the CNA does not perform qualifying long-term care employment within 24 months. |
Always verify with the registry directly before enrolling. Approved-program lists update periodically.
Frequently asked questions
A few questions come up again and again from people certifying in Iowa. Here are straight answers, with anything we cannot verify pointed to the Iowa Nurse Aide Registry.