Ames, IA Salaries
Local wages where BEA prices sit below the US average (RPP 88.8) - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Ames, IA moved from $48,860 in May 2024 to $50,220 in May 2025 (+2.8%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Ames, IA sits -0.3 pp near that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Transparent derived index from BLS and BEA data, not an official government rating. Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability. See the exact dimensions, weights, and formula.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 11180 · Ames, IA $59K mean
MEAN-MID · RPP-LOW · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-MOST
- MEAN-MID #214/528
- RPP-LOW 88.8
- OCC-MID 246 occs
- TOP-LEAD Family Medicin… · $248K
- EMP-MIX Software Dev…
- TREND-INLINE -0.3 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Lewiston-Auburn,…
- BOOK-MOST 245 rows · May 2025
Read with Lewiston-Auburn, ME (+$3 on published-row mean) · Salary vs. cost of living
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer, not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Ames, IA
Where Ames, IA already employs the upper wage tier
Software Developers and Medical and Health Services Managers lead published employment inside Ames, IA's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Software Developers 470 jobs · $129,440
- 2. Medical and Health Services Managers 280 jobs · $103,730
- 3. Financial Managers 220 jobs · $124,010
- 4. Computer and Information Systems Managers 130 jobs · $131,340
- 5. Managers, All Other 120 jobs · $138,110
- 6. Industrial Production Managers 120 jobs · $113,930
- 7. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products 120 jobs · $105,330
- 8. Chief Executives 110 jobs · $206,090
- 9. Sales Managers 110 jobs · $133,150
- 10. Marketing Managers 110 jobs · $132,050
- 11. Architectural and Engineering Managers 90 jobs · $137,010
- 12. Lawyers 90 jobs · $125,200
- 13. Natural Sciences Managers 90 jobs · $116,540
- 14. Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary 90 jobs · $106,520
- 15. Veterinarians 80 jobs · $118,240
- 16. Pharmacists 70 jobs · $139,690
- 17. Nurse Practitioners 70 jobs · $127,600
- 18. Family Medicine Physicians 60 jobs · $248,000
Occupations Tracked
246
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$59,293
employment-weighted, 245 complete rows
Top Salary
$248,000
Family Medicine Physicians
Cost of Living
88.8
11% below US avg
Top-pay occupations in Ames, IA, by employment
Same top-pay sample as the salary ranking, sorted by published local jobs so the title sequence follows the OEWS mix.
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Developers | $129,440 |
| 2 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $103,730 |
| 3 | Financial Managers | $124,010 |
| 4 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $131,340 |
| 5 | Managers, All Other | $138,110 |
| 6 | Industrial Production Managers | $113,930 |
| 7 | Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products | $105,330 |
| 8 | Chief Executives | $206,090 |
| 9 | Sales Managers | $133,150 |
| 10 | Marketing Managers | $132,050 |
| 11 | Architectural and Engineering Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 90 workers (fewer than 100). | $137,010 |
| 12 | Lawyers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 90 workers (fewer than 100). | $125,200 |
| 13 | Natural Sciences Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 90 workers (fewer than 100). | $116,540 |
| 14 | Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 90 workers (fewer than 100). | $106,520 |
| 15 | Veterinarians Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 80 workers (fewer than 100). | $118,240 |
| 16 | Pharmacists Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). | $139,690 |
| 17 | Nurse Practitioners Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). | $127,600 |
| 18 | Family Medicine Physicians Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). | $248,000 |
| 19 | Human Resources Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). | $137,390 |
| 20 | Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). | $104,930 |
| 21 | First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). | $102,930 |
| 22 | Dentists, General Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). | $163,950 |
| 23 | Electrical Engineers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). | $103,750 |
| 24 | Administrative Services Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). | $103,440 |
| 25 | Information Security Analysts Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 30 workers (fewer than 100). | $107,520 |
Small sample marks a row whose BLS estimate rests on fewer than 100 workers. It is still a published figure, but BLS reports more sampling error for cells this small: the median relative standard error of the mean wage is 3.4% under 100 workers against 2.1% at 100 or more (May 2025 metro estimates). Small gaps in rank between neighbouring rows may not be meaningful.
Lowest Paying Jobs in Ames, IA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Bartenders | $21,580 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $22,710 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). | $23,640 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $27,100 |
| Childcare Workers | $27,850 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $28,480 |
| Driver/Sales Workers | $28,760 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $29,220 |
| Cashiers | $29,230 |
| Self-Enrichment Teachers | $29,570 |
Small sample marks a row whose BLS estimate rests on fewer than 100 workers. It is still a published figure, but BLS reports more sampling error for cells this small: the median relative standard error of the mean wage is 3.4% under 100 workers against 2.1% at 100 or more (May 2025 metro estimates). Small gaps in rank between neighbouring rows may not be meaningful.
Other BLS Wage Areas in IA
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside IA. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($59,293 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the lower price level do to Ames, IA wage reading? ▼
What is the highest paying job in Ames, IA? ▼
What jobs pay the least in Ames, IA? ▼
Which federal tables feed Ames, IA's wage and price figures? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Ames, IA wage figures in a real decision
- Family Medicine Physicians leads published medians in Ames, IA at $248,000/year (a small-sample estimate from fewer than 100 workers); open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Family Medicine Physicians
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $59,293 adjusts to about $66,749 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 88.8. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for IA before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.