Start with the answer
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians pay in Iowa and Louisiana
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians is $71,670 per year in Iowa. It is $102,800 per year in Louisiana. Iowa is 30.3% below Louisiana on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 17-3027 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 500 wage and salary jobs in Iowa and 270 in Louisiana. 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
