Occupational profile · 2025
Iowa
Iowa employs 1,559,240 people. The work it does most unusually is food processing workers, all other, at 8.0× the national concentration — 5,210 jobs paying a median of $41,740.
What Iowa is distinctive for
Detailed occupations ranked by location quotient. A location quotient is an occupation’s share of a state’s jobs divided by its share of the nation’s. One means the state looks like the country; two means twice the concentration. It is a measure of distinctiveness, not of quality, size or pay. Bars use a logarithmic scale so the lower ranks stay legible beside the leader.
- 1Food Processing Workers, All Other5,210 jobs · median $41,7408.0×
- 2Slaughterers and Meat Packers4,220 jobs · median $43,8206.0×
- 3Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians2,210 jobs · median $59,8605.8×
- 4Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders1,420 jobs · median $62,5905.4×
- 5Agricultural Equipment Operators1,530 jobs · median $47,2205.4×
- 6Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders1,310 jobs · median $51,7404.1×
- 7Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals1,240 jobs · median $36,4803.8×
- 8New Accounts Clerks1,320 jobs · median $45,6303.6×
- 9Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic4,460 jobs · median $48,9103.6×
- 10Butchers and Meat Cutters4,480 jobs · median $37,7503.3×
- 11Locomotive Engineers1,000 jobs · median $89,9703.0×
- 12Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators4,750 jobs · median $52,3002.8×
What Iowa is made of
All twenty-two occupational groups by headcount, with the concentration figure beside each. Most states look broadly alike in this view — that is the finding, not a flaw in it.
| Occupation group | Share of state employment | Jobs | vs national | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | 169,390 | 0.95× | $46,520 | |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | 146,660 | 1.07× | $46,050 | |
| Production Occupations | 142,180 | 1.66× | $48,600 | |
| Sales and Related Occupations | 141,350 | 1.05× | $35,610 | |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | 135,030 | 0.98× | $29,620 | |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | 108,570 | 1.19× | $48,610 | |
| Management Occupations | 96,690 | 0.87× | $102,900 | |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | 92,100 | 0.93× | $77,590 | |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | 90,070 | 0.85× | $76,810 | |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | 70,570 | 1.10× | $59,460 | |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | 70,010 | 1.15× | $59,950 | |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | 65,530 | 0.83× | $38,420 | |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | 45,640 | 1.00× | $36,220 | |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | 38,250 | 0.73× | $89,360 | |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | 31,560 | 0.97× | $30,440 | |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | 24,270 | 0.91× | $50,510 | |
| Protective Service Occupations | 24,190 | 0.64× | $53,410 | |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | 20,980 | 0.80× | $83,690 | |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | 18,580 | 0.91× | $50,820 | |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | 14,290 | 0.97× | $72,690 | |
| Legal Occupations | 8,280 | 0.63× | $71,170 | |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | 5,050 | 1.16× | $44,480 |
Elsewhere on Iowa
Blank cells are estimates BLS did not release, usually because too few employers reported. They are shown as gaps rather than filled. Detailed occupations are included only where at least 1,000 people are employed, below which a quotient is survey noise. A wage marked “$239,200 or more” is censored at source: BLS does not publish medians above that figure, so the number is a floor rather than the wage. A work of the U.S. government: no copyright subsists (17 U.S.C. §105). BLS OEWS ↗