ML Engineer.
Des Moines.
$114,000
median salary, 14% below the national average
$85,000 to $150,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
If you are evaluating an ML Engineer offer in Des Moines, IA, here is the reality: $85,000 to $150,000, with $114,000 as the midpoint. 14% below the national average. Model training expertise at scale, infrastructure optimization skills, and publication record in top venues are the strongest differentiators. Do not accept the first number. 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 ML 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 $126,460 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area, based on 4,240 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$79,170
25th percentile
$101,550
Median
$126,460
75th percentile
$140,390
90th percentile
$168,180
Workers surveyed
4,240
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) rather than ML 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 15-1252Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $103,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$74,000
to $91,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$97,000
to $120,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$125,000
to $148,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$143,000
to $177,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $50,000 to the total package.
Base
$114,000
Equity
$30,000
Bonus
$13,000
Signing
$7,000
Estimated total: $164,000
ML 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
$114,000
Cost of living: 14% below average
National Average
$133,000
Des Moines is $19,000 below
ML Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Des Moines.
What you should know.
The ML Engineer landscape in Des Moines is not what most salary sites will tell you. 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. Model training expertise at scale, infrastructure optimization skills, and publication record in top venues are the strongest differentiators. ML engineers who can reduce training costs by 50% or improve model latency by an order of magnitude are exceptionally valuable. Specialization in transformer architectures, reinforcement learning, or generative models commands the highest premiums.
Entry level ML engineers (with MS/PhD) start at $130,000 to $165,000, reaching mid level at $170,000 to $220,000 in two to three years. Senior ML engineers earn $220,000 to $300,000. Staff and principal level engineers at leading AI labs can exceed $500,000 in total compensation. 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 at AI labs and top tech companies often doubles total compensation, with RSU grants of $50,000 to $200,000+ annually at senior levels. Bonuses of 15 to 25% are standard. Signing bonuses of $40,000 to $100,000 are common. Compute budgets for personal research projects are a growing perk. 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 $114,000, 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 ML Engineers in Des Moines runs from $85,000 to $150,000. 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?
- A Computer Vision Engineer in Des Moines earns $113,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Des Moines is CTO at $263,000
- See all ai engineering roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
ML Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Des Moines.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to ML Engineers in Des Moines.
Related tools.
Do you work as a ml engineer in Des Moines?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"ML Engineer Salary in Des Moines, IA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/ml-engineer/des-moines
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools