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Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators pay in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and Lafayette, LA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators is $47,880 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. It is $64,950 per year in Lafayette, LA. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 26.3% below Lafayette, LA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-2090 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 2,880 wage and salary jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and 530 in Lafayette, LA. 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