RAG Engineer.
Des Moines.
$110,000
median salary, 17% below the national average
$82,000 to $144,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
If you are evaluating an RAG Engineer offer in Des Moines, IA, here is the reality: $82,000 to $144,000, with $110,000 as the midpoint. 17% below the national average. Retrieval-augmented generation has emerged as one of the most in-demand AI specializations. 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 RAG 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 RAG 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 $99,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$72,000
to $88,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$94,000
to $116,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$121,000
to $143,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$138,000
to $171,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $22,000 to the total package.
Base
$110,000
Equity
$12,000
Bonus
$8,000
Signing
$2,000
Estimated total: $132,000
How Des Moines compares.
Des Moines, IA
$110,000
Cost of living: 14% below average
National Average
$133,000
Des Moines is $23,000 below
RAG Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Des Moines.
What you should know.
Here is what the RAG Engineer market actually looks like in Des Moines. 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. Retrieval-augmented generation has emerged as one of the most in-demand AI specializations. Engineers with production experience building end-to-end RAG pipelines that reduce hallucinations and improve factual accuracy earn 15 to 22% premiums. Expertise in chunking strategies, embedding model selection, hybrid search architectures, and retrieval evaluation metrics drives the strongest compensation offers.
ML engineers or search engineers earning $115,000 to $150,000 transition to RAG specialization at $140,000 to $242,000. Senior RAG engineers earn $195,000 to $270,000 before advancing to AI Application Architect or Head of Knowledge Systems roles. This is one of the fastest-growing specializations in AI engineering. 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 packages range from $220,000 to $410,000 with equity, bonuses of 12 to 25% of base, and conference participation budgets. The rapid growth of enterprise RAG adoption means signing bonuses of $20,000 to $60,000 are common for experienced candidates. 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 $110,000, 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 RAG Engineers in Des Moines runs from $82,000 to $144,000. 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
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Common questions.
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Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"RAG Engineer Salary in Des Moines, IA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/rag-engineer/des-moines
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