Salaries in Des Moines.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 0.86x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

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Highest Paying

$295,000

Senior VP of Security

Median of All Roles

$119,000

Aerospace Data Engineer

Entry Level

$30,000

Data Entry Specialist

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated August 2026.

Des Moines, IA has a cost-of-living index of 0.86x the national average. The highest-paying role is Senior VP of Security at $295,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $119,000. Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community.

About the Des Moines market

Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community. The metro's extremely low cost of living and strong job market make it one of the best value cities for finance professionals. Tech employment is growing as insurtech companies expand.

InsuranceFinancial ServicesAgricultureGovernmentTechnology

Top 50 salaries in Des Moines

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Senior VP of Security	$295,000	$251,000 – $384,000
2	Senior VP of Product	$292,000	$228,000 – $380,000
3	SVP of Engineering	$290,000	$246,000 – $377,000
4	SVP of Data	$290,000	$246,000 – $377,000
5	Chief Security Officer	$284,000	$221,000 – $369,000
6	SVP of Finance	$279,000	$237,000 – $362,000
7	Chief AI Officer	$277,000	$206,000 – $358,000
8	Senior VP of Design	$275,000	$215,000 – $357,000
9	SVP of Technology	$273,000	$232,000 – $355,000
10	VP of Data Engineering	$271,000	$231,000 – $352,000
11	VP of Information Security	$271,000	$231,000 – $352,000
12	VP of Cybersecurity	$271,000	$231,000 – $352,000
13	SVP of AI Innovation	$270,000	$229,000 – $351,000
14	SVP of Product	$270,000	$229,000 – $351,000
15	VP of AI	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
16	VP of AI Research	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
17	VP of Developer Experience	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
18	Chief Legal Officer	$268,000	$209,000 – $349,000
19	VP of Support Engineering	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
20	VP of Reliability Engineering	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
21	SVP of Sales	$268,000	$209,000 – $349,000
22	SVP of Strategy	$268,000	$209,000 – $349,000
23	VP of Data Science	$266,000	$226,000 – $346,000
24	VP of Cloud	$266,000	$226,000 – $346,000
25	VP of Partner Engineering	$266,000	$226,000 – $346,000
26	VP of Application Engineering	$266,000	$226,000 – $346,000
27	CTO	$263,000	$205,000 – $342,000
28	VP of Information Technology	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
29	VP of Database Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
30	VP of Infrastructure	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
31	VP of Privacy	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
32	VP of Security	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
33	Chief Strategy Officer	$261,000	$204,000 – $340,000
34	Chief Commercial Officer	$261,000	$204,000 – $340,000
35	VP of Risk	$261,000	$221,000 – $339,000
36	VP of Solutions Engineering	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
37	Chief Data & AI Officer	$259,000	$193,000 – $338,000
38	Chief Science Officer	$259,000	$202,000 – $336,000
39	VP of Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
40	VP of AI Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
41	VP of Network Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
42	VP of Core Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
43	VP of Machine Learning	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
44	VP of Platform Engineering	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
45	VP of Field Engineering	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
46	Senior Head of Security	$254,000	$216,000 – $330,000
47	VP of AI Product	$253,000	$215,000 – $329,000
48	VP of Finance	$253,000	$215,000 – $329,000
49	VP of IT	$253,000	$215,000 – $329,000
50	VP of Mobile	$253,000	$215,000 – $329,000

Tax considerations

Iowa has a flat 3.8% state income tax. Des Moines has no city income tax. The low tax rate and affordable housing create strong purchasing power.

Negotiating in Des Moines

Benchmark against national insurance industry pay scales. Des Moines insurance employers must compete with remote offers from larger metros and will often match.

Other cities

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