Average Salary in Iowa
Wages, household income and cost-of-living context for Iowa. All figures from federal releases, vintage 2024.
- Mean annual wage$58,350Rank #40 of 51
- Median annual wage$47,670Rank #30 of 51
- Median household income$75,501ACS 2024 1-year
- Regional price parity87.8US = 100
- Adjusted mean wage$66,458Rank #22 at national prices
- Total employment1,561,660Wage & salary workers
What the numbers say
The mean of $58,350 is $10,680 (22.4 %) above the median of $47,670, reflecting a right-skewed wage distribution pulled up by high earners.
Prices in Iowa are about 12.2 % below the national average (RPP 87.8, where US = 100). After the adjustment, every dollar earned in Iowa buys what $66,458 would buy at national average prices.
Median household income in Iowa is $75,501 (Census ACS 2024). That figure counts all income to all people in a household — two-earner couples, Social Security, self-employment earnings — and is not directly comparable to the per-worker wage figures above.
Pay for common occupations in Iowa
Annual mean wage, cross-industry. Blank rows indicate BLS suppression for this state/occupation cell.
| Occupation | SOC | Mean wage |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing Manager | 11-2021 | $137,990 |
| Pharmacist | 29-1051 | $131,150 |
| Lawyer | 23-1011 | $124,130 |
| Software Developer | 15-1252 | $116,000 |
| Project Management Specialist | 13-1082 | $99,520 |
| Mechanical Engineer | 17-2141 | $99,070 |
| Data Scientist | 15-2051 | $97,300 |
| Civil Engineer | 17-2051 | $96,450 |
Browse all 20 occupation pages →