Data Engineer.
Des Moines.
$113,000
median salary, 17% below the national average
$90,000 to $141,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median Data Engineer salary in Des Moines is $113,000, 17% below the national average. Entry level starts near $90,000. Experienced professionals push past $141,000. Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community. That spread is your negotiation window. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Data Engineer in Des Moines, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $120,030 for Database Architects (SOC 15-1243) in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area, based on 140 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$76,320
25th percentile
$98,330
Median
$120,030
75th percentile
$143,160
90th percentile
$153,090
Workers surveyed
140
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Database Architects (SOC 15-1243) rather than Data Engineer specifically. The Des Moines range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 15-1243Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $102,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$73,000
to $90,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$96,000
to $119,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$124,000
to $147,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$141,000
to $175,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $31,000 to the total package.
Base
$113,000
Equity
$18,000
Bonus
$11,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $144,000
Data Engineer salary by company.
Total compensation estimates include base, equity, bonus, and signing. Ranges reflect mid to senior level. Derived from public H-1B LCA filings (DOL).
How Des Moines compares.
Des Moines, IA
$113,000
Cost of living: 14% below average
National Average
$136,000
Des Moines is $23,000 below
Data Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Des Moines.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate a Data Engineer offer in Des Moines, understand the terrain. 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. Proficiency with modern data stack tools like Spark, Kafka, dbt, and Snowflake separates top earners from the pack. Engineers who build real-time streaming pipelines or manage petabyte-scale warehouses earn 15 to 25% more. Startups with heavy ML infrastructure needs often pay premiums to attract pipeline specialists.
Junior data engineers start at $85,000 to $105,000, progressing to mid-level at $115,000 to $155,000 within three years. Senior data engineers earn $160,000 to $195,000, while staff-level or principal roles reach $210,000 to $270,000 at top-tier companies. In Des Moines, your dollars stretch further. Cost of living runs 14% below the national average, which means even a median salary buys a stronger lifestyle.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity grants at data-intensive startups can represent 15 to 30% of total compensation. Annual bonuses range from 10 to 15%, and many firms provide $3,000 to $8,000 yearly learning stipends for cloud platform training. And on the tax side: 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. When someone quotes you $113,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Benchmark against national insurance industry pay scales. Des Moines insurance employers must compete with remote offers from larger metros and will often match. The range for Data Engineers in Des Moines runs from $90,000 to $141,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- An ML Engineer in Des Moines earns $114,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in Des Moines is CTO at $263,000
Common questions.
Data Engineer salary in other cities.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Data Engineer Salary in Des Moines, IA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/data-engineer/des-moines
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