Workers in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $31.09 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($62.17), legal ($49.20), and computer and mathematical ($48.34). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.68), personal care and service ($17.37), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($18.15). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Des Moines area included office and administrative support (12.2 percent), sales and related (9.4 percent), and business and financial operations (9.3 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.8 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.9 percent); and architecture and engineering (1.3 percent).

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Des Moines had 37,660 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 9.3 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $41.61, compared to the national wage of $45.04.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included accountants and auditors (5,220), market research analysts and marketing specialists (3,550), and management analysts (2,550). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors ($62.77) and financial risk specialists ($51.87). At the lower end of the wage scale were credit counselors ($24.42) and meeting, convention, and event planners ($28.07). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0019780.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.00 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Des Moines area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, insurance underwriters were employed at 3.52 times the national rate in Des Moines, and claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators, at 2.82 times the U.S. average. Human resources specialists had a location quotient of 1.04 in Des Moines, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, Iowa Workforce Development.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 530 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology is available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.7 percent based on establishments and 65.9 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,109 establishments with a response rate of 58 percent.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Dallas County, Guthrie County, Jasper County, Madison County, Polk County, and Warren County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for business and financial operations occupations, Des Moines metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	37,660	1.38	41.61	86,550
Buyers and purchasing agents	1,190	0.93	36.96	76,880
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	2,260	2.82	34.12	70,980
Insurance appraisers, auto damage	40	1.78	36.24	75,380
Compliance officers	1,510	1.45	39.93	83,060
Cost estimators	660	1.15	38.24	79,530
Human resources specialists	2,520	1.04	36.65	76,230
Labor relations specialists	170	1.01	42.17	87,710
Logisticians	570	0.91	37.32	77,620
Project management specialists	2,350	0.89	47.18	98,120
Management analysts	2,550	1.09	43.03	89,490
Meeting, convention, and event planners	420	1.18	28.07	58,390
Fundraisers	320	1.16	34.06	70,850
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	430	1.58	34.31	71,350
Training and development specialists	1,520	1.32	37.35	77,700
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	3,550	1.57	40.29	83,810
Business operations specialists, all other	5,150	1.74	44.99	93,580
Accountants and auditors	5,220	1.37	40.26	83,750
Property appraisers and assessors	200	1.30	47.04	97,850
Budget analysts	200	1.62	42.30	87,970
Credit analysts	300	1.67	44.49	92,550
Financial and investment analysts	1,290	1.44	48.00	99,840
Personal financial advisors	1,020	1.43	62.77	130,570
Insurance underwriters	1,000	3.52	45.10	93,810
Financial risk specialists	220	1.51	51.87	107,890
Financial examiners	540	3.27	44.13	91,790
Credit counselors	140	1.96	24.42	50,790
Loan officers	1,050	1.37	47.23	98,250
Tax preparers	240	1.22	31.30	65,110
Financial specialists, all other	880	2.64	40.16	83,540
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0019780. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers. (3) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average. (4) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a 'year-round, full-time' hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.