Start with the answer
Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic pay in Iowa and Ohio
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic is $63,420 per year in Iowa. It is $97,690 per year in Ohio. Iowa is 35.1% below Ohio on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-4062 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 90 wage and salary jobs in Iowa and 70 in Ohio. 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
