---
title: "Average Salary in Iowa"
description: "Mean $59,830, median $48,540 in Iowa (BLS OEWS May 2025), with prices, pay by field and top jobs."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/average-salary/iowa"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Average salary in Iowa

Mean annual wage $59,830, median $48,540 (US: $69,770 / $50,980), BLS OEWS May 2025. Median at national-average prices: $55,310 (rank 12 of 51 by that measure; rank 32 nominal).

| Percentile | Iowa | US |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 10th | $28,930 | $31,200 |
| 25th | $36,570 | $37,590 |
| 50th | $48,540 | $50,980 |
| 75th | $70,290 | $80,520 |
| 90th | $99,630 | $128,560 |

## Price levels (BEA Regional Price Parities, US = 100)

| Category | Index |
| --- | --- |
| All items | 87.8 |
| Housing (rents) | 65.3 |
| Goods | 93.7 |
| Utilities | 83.3 |
| Other services | 92.9 |

## By occupation group

| Group | Median | Workers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Management | $102,900 | 96,690 |
| Computer and Mathematical | $89,360 | 38,250 |
| Architecture and Engineering | $83,690 | 20,980 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | $77,590 | 92,100 |
| Business and Financial Operations | $76,810 | 90,070 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | $72,690 | 14,290 |
| Legal | $71,170 | 8,280 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | $59,950 | 70,010 |
| Construction and Extraction | $59,460 | 70,570 |
| Protective Service | $53,410 | 24,190 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | $50,820 | 18,580 |
| Community and Social Service | $50,510 | 24,270 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | $48,610 | 108,570 |
| Production | $48,600 | 142,180 |
| Office and Administrative Support | $46,520 | 169,390 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | $46,050 | 146,660 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | $44,480 | 5,050 |
| Healthcare Support | $38,420 | 65,530 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | $36,220 | 45,640 |
| Sales | $35,610 | 141,350 |
| Personal Care and Service | $30,440 | 31,560 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | $29,620 | 135,030 |

## Most common jobs

- [Cashier](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cashier): 41,450 workers
- [Retail Salesperson](https://nuecareer.com/careers/retail-salesperson): 41,000 workers
- [Fast Food and Counter Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/fast-food-and-counter-worker): 40,290 workers
- [Truck Driver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/truck-driver): 35,040 workers
- [Registered Nurse](https://nuecareer.com/careers/registered-nurse): 34,420 workers
- [Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/laborer-and-freight-stock-and-material-mover-hand): 30,890 workers
- [General and Operations Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/general-and-operations-manager): 30,760 workers
- [Customer Service Representative](https://nuecareer.com/careers/customer-service-representative): 30,100 workers
- [Stocker and Order Filler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/stocker-and-order-filler): 26,770 workers
- [Janitor and Cleaner, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners](https://nuecareer.com/careers/janitor-and-cleaner): 23,960 workers

## Highest-paying jobs (500+ workers)

- [Allergist and Immunologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/allergist-and-immunologist): $295,190 median
- [Family Medicine Physician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/family-medicine-physician): $265,200 median
- [Chief Executive](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chief-executive): $211,190 median
- [Dentist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dentist): $181,520 median
- [Architectural and Engineering Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/architectural-and-engineering-manager): $147,320 median
- [IT Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/it-manager): $143,780 median
- [Pharmacist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/pharmacist): $138,860 median
- [Physician Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/physician-assistant): $134,770 median
- [Sales Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sales-manager): $134,010 median
- [Financial Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/financial-manager): $133,320 median

## Most over-represented jobs (location quotient)

- [Slaughterer and Meat Packer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/slaughterer-and-meat-packer): 6.02x the national share
- [Farm Equipment Mechanic and Service Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/farm-equipment-mechanic-and-service-technician): 5.83x the national share
- [Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crushing-grinding-and-polishing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender): 5.44x the national share
- [Agricultural Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/agricultural-equipment-operator): 5.37x the national share
- [Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender): 4.12x the national share
- [Farmworker, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animal](https://nuecareer.com/careers/farmworker-farm-ranch-and-aquacultural-animal): 3.77x the national share
- [New Accounts Clerk](https://nuecareer.com/careers/new-accounts-clerk): 3.57x the national share
- [Multiple Machine Tool Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/multiple-machine-tool-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic): 3.57x the national share
- [Butcher and Meat Cutter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/butcher-and-meat-cutter): 3.27x the national share
- [Locomotive Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/locomotive-engineer): 2.98x the national share

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology