The Iowa all-occupations median was 4.8% below the U.S. all-occupations median in the same release. Cashiers had the largest published employment estimate among the 30 occupation rows shown on this hub, at 41,450.
Among those high-employment rows, Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary had the highest published location quotient at 1.72. 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 Iowa
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.
Cashiers: 41,450 jobs. Retail Salespersons: 41,000 jobs. Fast Food and Counter...: 40,290 jobs. Heavy and Tractor-Tra...: 35,040 jobs. Registered Nurses: 34,420 jobs. Laborers and Freight,...: 30,890 jobs.
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Iowa was 87.8, or 12.2% below the national price level. Its housing index was 65.3.
National-price-dollar proxy
$55,309
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 Iowa; U.S. = 100
U.S. baseline: 100.0. All items: 87.8. Housing: 65.3.
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 19.
Questions, answered
Wage data for Iowa: common questions
What is the all-occupations median wage in Iowa?
The May 2025 BLS OEWS release published an all-occupations median of $48,540 per year in Iowa. 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 Iowa?
BLS published an all-occupations employment estimate of 1,559,240 jobs for Iowa. It is a survey estimate, not a current opening count.
What is the largest detailed occupation shown for Iowa?
Cashiers is the largest detailed occupation in the bounded table on this page, with 41,450 estimated jobs and a published median of $28,970 per year.
Does the Iowa wage data adjust for local prices?
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.
From market data to your evidence
Tailor for a real Cashiers 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.
The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in Iowa at $48,540 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 1,559,240 covered jobs in Iowa. The all-occupations mean is $59,830 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.
Iowa's $48,540 all-occupations median is 4.8% below 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.
Iowa ranks 32 of 54 among states and territories 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. Iowa has 1,559,240 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.
29. Nebraska has an all-occupations median of $48,980 per year and 1,024,370 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Iowa is $440.
30. Montana has an all-occupations median of $48,740 per year and 511,580 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Iowa is $200.
31. Texas has an all-occupations median of $48,620 per year and 14,071,160 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Iowa is $80.
33. Georgia has an all-occupations median of $48,170 per year and 4,889,170 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Iowa is $370.
34. Kansas has an all-occupations median of $48,010 per year and 1,437,520 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Iowa is $530.
35. Idaho has an all-occupations median of $47,970 per year and 857,440 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Iowa is $570.
The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for Iowa. The first row, Cashiers, has 41,450 estimated jobs. Its median is $28,970 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. Cashiers has 41,450 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $28,970 per year. Its location quotient is 1.34.
2. Retail Salespersons has 41,000 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $31,360 per year. Its location quotient is 1.05.
3. Fast Food and Counter Workers has 40,290 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $28,390 per year. Its location quotient is 1.04.
Role pay range
How published medians differ inside Iowa
The detailed roles shown for Iowa do not share one pay level. General and Operations Managers has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $87,690 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 $48,540 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. General and Operations Managers has a published median of $87,690 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 30,760 jobs. Its local share is 0.88 times the national share.
2. Registered Nurses has a published median of $78,630 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 34,420 jobs. Its local share is 1.02 times the national share.
3. Accountants and Auditors has a published median of $77,440 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 13,210 jobs. Its local share is 0.91 times the national share.
Local share
Roles with a larger local share in Iowa
Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in Iowa 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.
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 1.72. The same row has 24,520 jobs and a median of $30,510 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. Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary has a location quotient of 1.72 in Iowa. BLS lists 24,520 jobs and a median of $30,510 per year.
2. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers has a location quotient of 1.69 in Iowa. BLS lists 35,040 jobs and a median of $58,070 per year.
3. Nursing Assistants has a location quotient of 1.56 in Iowa. BLS lists 22,670 jobs and a median of $39,350 per year.
Separate price view
What the BEA price level adds for Iowa
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Iowa is 87.8. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 12.2% below that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.
The housing index is 65.3. The goods index is 93.7. Utilities are 83.3. 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.
The all-occupations employment RSE for Iowa is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.2%. 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 1,559,240 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.
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 Iowa 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.
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 Iowa's $48,540 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.
The page does not say what one person in Iowa 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 32 of 54 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.
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.
4. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers has 35,040 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $58,070 per year. Its location quotient is 1.69.
5. Registered Nurses has 34,420 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $78,630 per year. Its location quotient is 1.02.
6. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand has 30,890 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $43,490 per year. Its location quotient is 1.04.
7. General and Operations Managers has 30,760 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $87,690 per year. Its location quotient is 0.88.
8. Customer Service Representatives has 30,100 estimated jobs in Iowa. Its published median is $46,090 per year. Its location quotient is 1.16.
4. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers has a published median of $74,750 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 10,130 jobs. Its local share is 1.5 times the national share.
5. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has a published median of $66,760 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 16,990 jobs. Its local share is 1.37 times the national share.
6. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a published median of $64,400 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 10,190 jobs. Its local share is 0.71 times the national share.
7. Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has a published median of $61,200 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 12,310 jobs. Its local share is 1.15 times the national share.
8. Electricians has a published median of $60,860 per year in Iowa. BLS lists 10,310 jobs. Its local share is 1.36 times the national share.
4. First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers has a location quotient of 1.5 in Iowa. BLS lists 10,130 jobs and a median of $74,750 per year.
5. Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators has a location quotient of 1.39 in Iowa. BLS lists 19,540 jobs and a median of $48,920 per year.
6. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has a location quotient of 1.37 in Iowa. BLS lists 16,990 jobs and a median of $66,760 per year.
7. Electricians has a location quotient of 1.36 in Iowa. BLS lists 10,310 jobs and a median of $60,860 per year.
8. Cashiers has a location quotient of 1.34 in Iowa. BLS lists 41,450 jobs and a median of $28,970 per year.
Precise employer-title matches for Cashiers in Iowa
Filtered through MeritLog's approved Iowa place record and a strict employer-title rule. Listings are not classified by BLS and remain separate from BLS and BEA estimates.
