Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Iowa

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Iowa, ranked by annual average salary. For each job, the table displays the number of employees with that job, as well as the job's entry-level salary. (The entry-level salary is calculated based on the 10% of paid workers with the lowest salaries.)

Based on the table, we see that the highest-paying jobs in Iowa are those of obstetricians and gynecologists, with an average annual salary of $237,620. The second highest-paying jobs are those of general pediatrician, with an average salary of $236,100.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Iowa has been computed using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023. Notably, the highest-paying occupations change from year to year. Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the top 10 highest-paying occupations in Iowa in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Iowa (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$237,620	$72,900	130
2	General Pediatricians	$236,100	$73,550	250
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$208,140	$172,420	350
4	Orthodontists	$204,700	$143,790	70
5	Psychiatrists	$195,000	$65,480	100
6	Neurologists	$174,780	$70,690	30
7	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	$166,590	$101,140	50
8	Physicists	$163,890	$51,900	130
9	General Dentists	$160,980	$79,490	850
10	Chief Executives	$147,950	$39,380	2,810
11	Podiatrists	$145,990	$61,090	110
12	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$131,970	$97,780	1,940
13	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$131,350	$73,840	80
14	Pharmacists	$130,630	$105,450	2,790
15	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$129,450	$83,750	3,580
16	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$128,980	$41,080	130
17	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$127,570	$50,620	440
18	Marketing Managers	$127,030	$72,170	2,440
19	Optometrists	$126,650	$60,370	600
20	Sales Managers	$126,250	$68,860	2,310
21	Physician Assistants	$125,240	$93,000	1,140
22	Database Architects	$124,420	$86,360	280
23	Nurse Practitioners	$123,460	$101,930	2,610
24	Financial Managers	$120,900	$68,360	10,530
25	Public Relations Managers	$117,590	$65,200	630
26	Nurse Midwives	$112,420	$71,700	30
27	Medical Dosimetrists	$109,740	$100,440	30
28	All Other Managers	$109,310	$68,280	2,770
29	Human Resources Managers	$108,850	$72,550	1,500
30	Other Psychologists	$106,950	$42,200	60
31	Computer Network Architects	$106,950	$57,990	1,130
32	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$105,870	$49,410	150
33	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$105,390	$73,300	70
34	Information Security Analysts	$104,750	$52,930	1,240
35	Software Developers	$103,580	$64,910	9,310
36	Actuaries	$103,580	$64,900	730
37	Purchasing Managers	$103,400	$62,960	510
38	Lawyers	$103,130	$60,520	3,450
39	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$101,210	$69,890	2,970
40	Industrial Production Managers	$99,380	$64,870	3,510
41	Electrical Engineers	$99,330	$63,490	940
42	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$98,500	$82,760	60
43	Chemical Engineers	$98,450	$66,410	130
44	Training and Development Managers	$98,220	$66,060	420
45	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$96,390	$65,500	120
46	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$96,370	$46,310	2,960
47	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$95,950	$65,370	180
48	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$95,740	$57,860	70
49	Environmental Engineers	$95,510	$65,000	220
50	Medical and Health Services Managers	$95,380	$65,820	5,900
51	Power Plant Operators	$95,120	$53,930	270
52	Data Scientists	$94,860	$50,980	1,970
53	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$93,700	$51,440	1,820
54	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$93,630	$65,210	1,300
55	Engineers, All Other	$93,580	$61,760	420
56	Construction Managers	$93,020	$62,050	1,830
57	Administrative Services Managers	$92,130	$62,200	1,060
58	Commercial Pilots	$91,660	$47,640	380
59	Veterinarians	$90,360	$48,770	1,090
60	Materials Scientists	$90,310	$51,260	140
61	Materials Engineers	$90,150	$59,120	410
62	Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	$89,480	$33,350	200
63	Radiologists	$89,160	$66,210	100
64	Sales Engineers	$89,130	$67,920	300
65	Industrial Engineers	$88,980	$64,440	4,600
66	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$88,340	$44,840	50
67	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$88,160	$63,190	1,360
68	Computer Hardware Engineers	$87,950	$58,010	280
69	Natural Sciences Managers	$87,080	$60,100	550
70	Database Administrators	$86,630	$60,360	440
71	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$86,540	$66,930	1,670
72	Computer Systems Analysts	$85,790	$59,870	5,050
73	Hearing Aid Specialists	$85,700	$29,730	180
74	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$85,680	$56,590	1,770
75	Fire Inspectors and Investigators	$85,200	$49,900	80
76	Computer Occupations, All Other	$85,160	$31,200	2,290
77	Mechanical Engineers	$84,800	$61,590	4,570
78	Financial Risk Specialists	$84,790	$62,270	1,090
79	Physical Therapists	$84,700	$66,600	2,430
80	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$84,490	$51,090	520
81	Air Traffic Controllers	$84,430	$71,320	90
82	Fundraising Managers	$84,240	$57,910	330
83	Statisticians	$84,240	$41,510	260
84	Fish and Game Wardens	$84,120	$55,970	120
85	Civil Engineers	$83,920	$61,240	2,030
86	Computer Programmers	$83,730	$55,140	980
87	Athletes and Sports Competitors	$83,480	$30,820	130
88	Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners	$83,410	$46,470	210
89	Audiologists	$83,400	$56,990	150
90	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$83,140	$58,990	3,320
91	Facilities Managers	$82,760	$55,820	1,570
92	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$82,520	$49,660	2,450
93	Credit Analysts	$82,260	$49,000	1,030
94	Financial Analysts	$81,940	$57,050	1,660
95	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$81,900	$60,960	370
96	Management Analysts	$81,570	$52,520	6,080
97	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	$81,430	$28,660	130
98	Personal Financial Advisors	$81,410	$35,570	2,070
99	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$81,380	$56,870	70
100	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$81,060	$49,360	2,720

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Iowa – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$201,660
2	Psychiatrists	$195,000
3	Neurologists	$174,780
4	Chief Executives	$168,850
5	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	$166,590
6	General Dentists	$163,140
7	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$134,520
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$128,420
9	Pharmacists	$127,690
10	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$127,000

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Iowa – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Psychiatrists	$201,530
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$192,200
3	General Dentists	$145,610
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$124,300
5	Pharmacists	$123,820
6	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$123,240
7	Podiatrists	$116,640
8	Physician Assistants	$116,300
9	Optometrists	$115,350
10	Sales Engineers	$112,540

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Iowa – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Psychiatrists	$193,810
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$193,510
3	General Dentists	$153,500
4	Sales Engineers	$135,370
5	Chief Executives	$128,570
6	Podiatrists	$126,260
7	Pharmacists	$120,830
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$120,410
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$119,490
10	Optometrists	$116,110

Also see The most popular jobs in Iowa.