Office Manager.
Des Moines.
$94,000
median salary, 13% below the national average
$73,000 to $128,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median Office Manager salary in Des Moines is $94,000, 13% below the national average. Entry level starts near $73,000. Experienced professionals push past $128,000. 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 Office Manager 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 $126,190 for Administrative Services Managers (SOC 11-3012) in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area, based on 630 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$76,680
25th percentile
$100,110
Median
$126,190
75th percentile
$147,800
90th percentile
$172,400
Workers surveyed
630
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $94,000 is 26% lower than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Administrative Services Managers covers a different population than the Office Manager title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Administrative Services Managers (SOC 11-3012) rather than Office Manager 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 11-3012Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $85,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$61,000
to $75,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$80,000
to $99,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$103,000
to $122,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$118,000
to $146,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $23,000 to the total package.
Base
$94,000
Equity
$13,000
Bonus
$8,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $117,000
How Des Moines compares.
Des Moines, IA
$94,000
Cost of living: 14% below average
National Average
$108,000
Des Moines is $14,000 below
Office Manager salary by city.
Salary by role in Des Moines.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate an Office Manager 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. Office Manager compensation scales with team size under management, scope of organizational responsibility, and track record of hiring and retaining talent. Base salary carries most of the total compensation, with bonuses adding roughly 5% in a typical year. At the mid-management level, the scope of the organization under management ($10M budget vs $100M+) drives the largest compensation variance.
Office Managers progress Manager → Senior Manager → Director → Senior Director → VP → SVP → C-suite over 12 to 20 years. Each step adds org scope roughly 3x (manage 6 → 20 → 60 → 200 → 500+ people). The biggest inflection is Director → VP, which requires demonstrated P&L responsibility. 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. Total compensation for Office Managers runs roughly $82K at median when factoring base + typical bonus (~5% of base). Base salary carries most of the compensation; benefits (healthcare, 401(k) match, PTO) add an estimated 15–25% in imputed value on top. At management levels, variable compensation (bonus + LTIP) grows as a share of total — expect 30–50% variable at director and 50%+ variable at VP and above. 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 $94,000, 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 Office Managers in Des Moines runs from $73,000 to $128,000. 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 AI Data Scientist in Des Moines earns $95,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in Des Moines is CTO at $263,000
Common questions.
Office Manager salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Des Moines.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Office Manager Salary in Des Moines, IA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/office-manager/des-moines
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