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Compensation and Benefits Managers pay in Iowa and Washington
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Compensation and Benefits Managers is $118,250 per year in Iowa. It is $199,190 per year in Washington. Iowa is 40.6% below Washington on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 11-3111 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 120 wage and salary jobs in Iowa and 460 in Washington. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
