The Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA all-occupations median was 1.6% above the U.S. all-occupations median in the same release. Customer Service Representatives had the largest published employment estimate among the 30 occupation rows shown on this hub, at 12,070.
Among those high-employment rows, Insurance Sales Agents had the highest published location quotient at 2.36. A location quotient above 1.00 means a larger share of local employment than the national share; it does not measure job quality or future demand.
Occupation detail
Largest published occupations in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Sorted by published employment. Open a row for its local distribution, national comparison, and jobs.
Largest published occupation estimates by employment
Six high-employment rows from the bounded area summary. The table below keeps each full title and published field.
Customer Service Repr...: 12,070 jobs. Retail Salespersons: 11,000 jobs. Fast Food and Counter...: 10,060 jobs. Cashiers: 8,720 jobs. General and Operation...: 8,370 jobs. Registered Nurses: 8,130 jobs.
$48,880/yearEmployment: 12,070 Jobs per 1,000: 29.86 Location quotient: 1.79
12,070
29.86
1.79
Price-level context
What the local median may buy
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA was 91.7, or 8.3% below the national price level. Its housing index was 84.7.
National-price-dollar proxy
$56,510
WageScope divides the published all occupations median by the BEA all-items index. This is a price-level comparison, not take-home pay, a personal budget, or a quality-of-life score.
Wage period: BLS May 2025. Price period: BEA 2024. The releases describe different periods and are shown separately.
Price level in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA; U.S. = 100
U.S. baseline: 100.0. All items: 91.7. Housing: 84.7.
Read the all-jobs wage, role mix, local job shares, price-level context, and survey limits as separate facts. Every value stays tied to BLS area 19780.
Questions, answered
Wage data for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA: common questions
What is the all-occupations median wage in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA?
The May 2025 BLS OEWS release published an all-occupations median of $51,820 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. It combines covered wage and salary jobs and is not a median for every individual occupation.
How many wage and salary jobs does BLS estimate in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA?
BLS published an all-occupations employment estimate of 404,130 jobs for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. It is a survey estimate, not a current opening count.
What is the largest detailed occupation shown for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA?
Customer Service Representatives is the largest detailed occupation in the bounded table on this page, with 12,070 estimated jobs and a published median of $48,880 per year.
Does the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA wage data adjust for local prices?
From market data to your evidence
Tailor for a real Customer Service Representatives job, not a generic wage number.
Pick an eligible listing, then MeritLog can help you prepare from experience you have confirmed. WageScope never turns a BLS estimate into a qualification or résumé claim.
What the all-jobs median says about Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA at $51,820 per year. This is the middle wage across covered wage and salary jobs in the area. It is not the median for each job title. It is not one worker's pay. Use an occupation page when you need a role-level answer.
BLS lists 404,130 covered jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. The all-occupations mean is $65,970 per year. Mean means add the wage values and split the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. The median and mean can differ because the local wage mix is not even.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA's $51,820 all-occupations median is 1.6% above the U.S. all-occupations median of $50,980 on the same published median. This is a wage check on the same source period. It does not add local price levels, taxes, hours, benefits, or household needs.
Where Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA sits among metro areas
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA ranks 77 of 393 among metro areas with a published annual all-occupations median. WageScope keeps the map type the same. It does not place a state, metro, and nonmetro row in one rank. The rank uses the May 2025 BLS median only.
A rank is a place in a sorted list. It is not a score. It does not say a place is good or bad. It does not show the size of the job base. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA has 404,130 covered jobs, while another row near it can have a very different count.
The nearby rank rows give context without turning the list into a league table. Small gaps can move a place by several spots. A later BLS release can also change the order. Read the wage gap and the source date beside the rank. Do not use rank alone to make a move.
74. Springfield, MA has an all-occupations median of $51,930 per year and 201,240 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is $110.
75. Sheboygan, WI has an all-occupations median of $51,890 per year and 60,630 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is $70.
76. Pittsfield, MA has an all-occupations median of $51,860 per year and 56,810 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is $40.
78. Huntsville, AL has an all-occupations median of $51,740 per year and 266,650 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is $80.
79. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA has an all-occupations median of $51,690 per year and 200,760 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is $130.
80. Cheyenne, WY has an all-occupations median of $51,540 per year and 48,470 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is $280.
The largest detailed occupations shown for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. The first row, Customer Service Representatives, has 12,070 estimated jobs. Its median is $48,880 per year.
Large roles shape the all-occupations wage mix, but they do not set it by themselves. A role with many jobs and a lower wage can pull the middle one way. A smaller role with a higher wage can move the mean. The all-occupations row is based on the whole covered job mix, not just the occupations shown in this bounded list.
Employment here means wage and salary jobs in the BLS survey scope. It does not mean people looking for work. It does not mean openings. It does not show how fast a role is changing. Use the current job cards only to inspect dated employer-title matches. Keep that view apart from this May 2025 job count.
1. Customer Service Representatives has 12,070 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $48,880 per year. Its location quotient is 1.79.
2. Retail Salespersons has 11,000 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $33,430 per year. Its location quotient is 1.09.
Role pay range
How published medians differ inside Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
The detailed roles shown for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA do not share one pay level. Financial Managers has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $154,140 per year. That does not make it the highest-paid role in every job or in every part of the area.
The list keeps each official SOC title tied to its own wage row. It does not blend fields, levels, or job posts. A role median can be above the $51,820 all-occupations median even when the role has few jobs. A large role can sit below that mark. Pay and job count answer different questions.
Use a role's own WageScope page before you compare places. That page shows the national spread, the same SOC code across areas, and the source limits. The area list is a starting map. It is not enough to set a pay target for one person or one listing.
1. Financial Managers has a published median of $154,140 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 3,800 jobs. Its local share is 1.74 times the national share.
2. Software Developers has a published median of $126,460 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 4,240 jobs. Its local share is 0.97 times the national share.
3. General and Operations Managers has a published median of $98,780 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 8,370 jobs. Its local share is 0.92 times the national share.
Local share
Roles with a larger local share in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA with that role's share across the nation. A value of 1 means the shares match. A value above 1 means the role takes a larger share of local jobs. A value below 1 means the share is smaller. The value does not show growth or open jobs.
Insurance Sales Agents has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 2.36. The same row has 2,940 jobs and a median of $61,140 per year. Read all three fields together.
A high share can appear in a small job base. A large job count can appear with a share near 1. A high median can appear in either case. The three measures are not a single score. They help you ask three clear questions: how many jobs, how common the role is in the local mix, and what wage BLS published.
1. Insurance Sales Agents has a location quotient of 2.36 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 2,940 jobs and a median of $61,140 per year.
2. Business Operations Specialists, All Other has a location quotient of 1.82 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 5,130 jobs and a median of $86,540 per year.
3. Customer Service Representatives has a location quotient of 1.79 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 12,070 jobs and a median of $48,880 per year.
Separate price view
What the BEA price level adds for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 91.7. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 8.3% below that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.
The housing index is 84.7. The goods index is 93.7. Utilities are 84.6. Other services are 92.9. These parts can move in different ways. The all-items number joins them with BEA's method; WageScope does not pick its own weights.
The BLS wage period is May 2025. The BEA price period is 2024. WageScope shows both dates because the clocks differ. It can divide a wage by the all-items index for a clear national-price-dollar proxy. It does not call that result take-home pay, spending power for one home, or a place score.
How to read survey care marks for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
The all-occupations employment RSE for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.5%. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. A smaller value often means less sampling uncertainty. It is not an error bar for one person's wage.
The employment RSE belongs to the 404,130 job estimate. The mean-wage RSE belongs to the all-occupations mean. WageScope does not attach either field to a detailed role, the median, or a percentile. Each role row has its own published care marks when BLS supplies them.
Some BLS values are blank or top coded. Blank does not mean zero. A top code means the value is at least the shown bound. WageScope keeps those states in the role pages and tables. It does not fill a missing value from a peer role, past year, or nearby place.
Use Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA as a map, then choose one occupation
Start with the role that matches the work you mean. Official titles can sound broad. Open the role page and check its SOC code. Then compare the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA row with the U.S. row on the same annual or hourly metric. Read the job count and location quotient beside the wage. Add the BEA price level only when the exact row is present.
Next, look at the wage spread. The median shows the middle. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles show more of the range. A posted job range can be compared with those marks as context, but it stays employer evidence. It never becomes part of the BLS estimate.
If the role-place row is missing, use the national role page or choose another official area. Do not guess. A clean missing state is more useful than a made-up number. It tells you what the source can and cannot answer.
Move from Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA wage data to one checked job
The area page does not treat every local job as the same. Choose an occupation first. WageScope can then use a strict employer-title match for that role. A place filter is used only when the BLS area has an exact approved match in the public place list. If that match is not safe, the page says so.
Each shown job keeps the employer, place, source, and seen date. The cards can change as the public catalog changes. They do not count toward this page's stable content gate. They do not change Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA's $51,820 all-occupations median. They do not prove that the employer uses the BLS title.
Open a listing before you tailor. Use facts from your own work that you can support. A wage value is not a skill, result, or duty. MeritLog can help shape confirmed work for the listing you chose. The public area page does not save the role, listing, place, or résumé on load.
What this Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA page does not say
The page does not say what one person in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA earns. It does not promise a wage, job, move, or result. It does not call the all-occupations median a role wage. It does not turn rank 77 of 393 into a place score. It does not say why wages differ.
The BLS job count leaves out people who work for themselves and other work outside the survey scope. The current job cards are a separate set of public listings. Neither source shows all work. Neither source tells you the chance of getting hired. A missing value stays missing.
Use the page for a narrow task. See the May 2025 local wage picture. Choose one official occupation. Compare the same field across like places. Add the separate 2024 price level when it exists. Read a current employer-title match. Then make a résumé choice from work facts you have confirmed.
No. BLS wage estimates are nominal. Where an exact BEA Regional Price Parity row exists, WageScope shows that price-level context separately and labels its source period.
Are MeritLog job listings part of the government wage estimate?
No. Eligible live listings remain separate from BLS statistics. Their locations and posted pay do not change the official area or occupation rows.
3. Fast Food and Counter Workers has 10,060 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $29,140 per year. Its location quotient is 1.
4. Cashiers has 8,720 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $29,640 per year. Its location quotient is 1.09.
5. General and Operations Managers has 8,370 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $98,780 per year. Its location quotient is 0.92.
6. Registered Nurses has 8,130 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $78,630 per year. Its location quotient is 0.93.
7. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers has 7,840 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $60,720 per year. Its location quotient is 1.46.
8. Stockers and Order Fillers has 7,430 estimated jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Its published median is $36,800 per year. Its location quotient is 1.01.
4. Business Operations Specialists, All Other has a published median of $86,540 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 5,130 jobs. Its local share is 1.82 times the national share.
5. Accountants and Auditors has a published median of $79,290 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 4,850 jobs. Its local share is 1.29 times the national share.
6. Registered Nurses has a published median of $78,630 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 8,130 jobs. Its local share is 0.93 times the national share.
7. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists has a published median of $76,580 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 3,440 jobs. Its local share is 1.47 times the national share.
8. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a published median of $71,690 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 3,100 jobs. Its local share is 0.83 times the national share.
4. Financial Managers has a location quotient of 1.74 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 3,800 jobs and a median of $154,140 per year.
5. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has a location quotient of 1.52 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 4,900 jobs and a median of $67,040 per year.
6. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists has a location quotient of 1.47 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 3,440 jobs and a median of $76,580 per year.
7. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers has a location quotient of 1.46 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 7,840 jobs and a median of $60,720 per year.
8. Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary has a location quotient of 1.39 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. BLS lists 5,140 jobs and a median of $34,620 per year.
Local job matching is not ready for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA.
We did not fill this page with jobs from other places. Search all Customer Service Representatives jobs, then check each listing's location before you tailor your resume.
