Des Moines wage growth splits along white-collar, logistics lines.
3.2%
Iowa unemployment rate
Steady for 4th month; vs 3.5% year ago, 4.2% national
-7,500 YoY
Iowa employed population
Driven by retirement outflows, not layoffs
60,378
Statewide job openings
Against near-zero net annual job growth statewide
3.0% vs 3.4%
National wage vs. inflation gap
First sustained real-wage decline since 2021
This Month's Takeaways
01
Finance and health services are carrying local wage momentum.
Registered Nurse and Financial Analyst pay both rose significantly this month, consistent with regional data showing Finance and Insurance as the metro's highest-paying sector at roughly $123,927 average annual wage. This suggests the metro's wage growth is increasingly concentrated rather than broad-based across the basket.
02
Logistics and production pay softness tracks statewide sector data.
CDL Truck Driver and Manufacturing Production Worker advertised pay both moved down moderately locally, mirroring Iowa's statewide trend of trade/transportation losing 5,200 jobs annually. A metro built partly on logistics and food/ag manufacturing should watch whether this softness is cyclical or structural.
03
Labor force attrition, not layoffs, is the state's binding constraint.
Iowa's employed population fell 7,500 year-over-year even as unemployment held at 3.2%, a pattern state economists attribute to retirement outflows among 45-54-year-olds rather than job separations. For a metro with 60,378 statewide openings, this demographic drain — not weak demand — appears to be capping expansion capacity.
04
Operations and marketing pay strength hints at business reinvestment, not retrenchment.
Operations Manager pay rose significantly to $126,910, nearly 49% above the national median, while Marketing Specialist pay also climbed significantly. Both point toward local firms investing in growth and customer-facing functions even as some goods-movement roles cool.
Local Economic Conditions
Des Moines metro wage gains cluster in finance, healthcare, and operations roles — Registered Nurse pay up significantly to $109,595 and Operations Manager pay up significantly to $126,910 — while goods-movement and production roles soften, with CDL Truck Driver pay down moderately to $76,960 and Manufacturing Production Worker pay down moderately to $37,648. Statewide, Iowa's unemployment rate held at 3.2% for a fourth straight month in August, but total employed Iowans fell 7,500 year-over-year, a gap driven by retirement outflows rather than job losses, even as 60,378 positions remain open statewide.
Open Threads in the Data
Divergence between white-collar/skilled-service wage acceleration and softening logistics/production pay is consistent with a metro economy still expanding in professional, financial, and health services while goods-movement and manufacturing cool — a pattern commerce leaders should read as sector rotation, not broad contraction. For economic development and chamber planning, the combination of near-zero statewide net job growth and 60,378 unfilled openings suggests capacity constraints rather than demand weakness are the binding limit on local expansion. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether Polk County's finance and insurance wage strength (regionally the highest-paying sector) continues to outpace logistics and manufacturing, as a widening gap could reshape which business recruitment pitches land best locally.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$31,200 |
→ Stable |
3,355 |
| Retail Cashier |
$31,200 |
→ Stable |
842 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$37,440 |
→ Stable |
673 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$76,960 |
↓ Moderate decline |
6,670 |
| Delivery Driver |
$34,320 |
→ Stable |
3,347 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$45,000 |
↑ Moderate increase |
318 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$68,970 |
↑ Moderate increase |
611 |
| HVAC Technician |
$68,640 |
→ Stable |
159 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$37,648 |
↓ Moderate decline |
506 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$39,000 |
→ Stable |
1,333 |
| Operations Manager |
$126,910 |
↑ Significant increase |
10 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$32,602 |
↑ Moderate increase |
140 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$39,520 |
→ Stable |
1,595 |
| Registered Nurse |
$109,595 |
↑ Significant increase |
8,658 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$43,680 |
→ Stable |
861 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$140,153 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,998 |
| Data Engineer |
$128,297 |
↓ Moderate decline |
570 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$65,018 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,434 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$66,088 |
→ Stable |
137 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$71,014 |
↑ Significant increase |
164 |
| Business Analyst |
$92,500 |
→ Stable |
646 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$100,510 |
↑ Moderate increase |
299 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$45,631 |
↑ Significant increase |
3,323 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$93,712 |
↑ Significant increase |
1,092 |
Industry Snapshot · Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
↓ −4.3% |
↑ +5.9% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +35.6% |
↑ +23.1% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +4.9% |
→ +1.9% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −7.0% |
↑ +9.5% |
| Information |
↑ +16.0% |
↑ +36.8% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +25.8% |
↑ +45.3% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +24.6% |
↑ +14.4% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +32.5% |
↑ +4.0% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
→ −0.7% |
↑ +4.7% |
| Government |
↑ +22.6% |
↓ −36.4% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
National nonfarm payrolls added just 29,000 jobs in September with downward revisions to July and August totaling 60,000. Watch whether Iowa's relative outperformance (3.2% unemployment vs. 4.2% national) holds if national softness persists into Q4.
Emerging pressure point
National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% annually, now trailing 3.4% inflation — the first sustained real-wage decline since 2021. If Iowa's wage gains (statewide average weekly wage up 3.9% year-over-year) follow this national pattern, local consumer purchasing power and retail activity could feel it first.
Potential inflection point
Iowa's $2.1 billion unemployment insurance trust balance is enabling the lowest possible employer tax rates for 2027, a fiscal cushion that commerce leaders and policymakers can factor into 2027 business cost planning.
Early indicator
Manufacturing accounts for 46% of Iowa's WARN-affected workers over the past 24 months even as overall WARN filings fell 58% year-over-year. A single large notice in the Des Moines metro could move that share quickly — worth tracking against the UnityPoint Health and NFI Interactive Logistics notices already filed this year.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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