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Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary pay in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary is $34,620 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. It is $57,950 per year in Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 40.3% below Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-9045 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 5,140 wage and salary jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and 870 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA. 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