Start with the answer
Loan Interviewers and Clerks pay in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and Salinas, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Loan Interviewers and Clerks is $52,970 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. It is $65,160 per year in Salinas, CA. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 18.7% below Salinas, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 43-4131 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 780 wage and salary jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and 60 in Salinas, CA. 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