Fastest Growing Jobs in Iowa

National growth leaders filtered through Iowa's actual employment footprint – BLS 2024–2034

Where Iowa already employs the growth list

Ranked by published Iowa employment (not by national growth %). Sibling state pages diverge here because the occupation title set and order change with the OEWS footprint.

  1. 1. Home Health and Personal Care Aides · Healthcare Support Occupations 25,800 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 12,270 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 9,130 jobs · +14.8%
  4. 4. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 9,040 jobs · +15.8%
  5. 5. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 6,200 jobs · +23.2%
  6. 6. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 6,050 jobs · +16.1%
  7. 7. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 5,990 jobs · +12.5%
  8. 8. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 3,920 jobs · +15.2%
  9. 9. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 3,530 jobs · +16.8%
  10. 10. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 3,480 jobs · +12.1%
  11. 11. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 3,240 jobs · +40.1%
  12. 12. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 3,230 jobs · +17.3%
  13. 13. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 2,510 jobs · +11.9%
  14. 14. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 2,480 jobs · +16.7%
  15. 15. Data Scientists · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 2,300 jobs · +33.5%
  16. 16. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,540 jobs · +15%
  17. 17. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 1,310 jobs · +12.5%
  18. 18. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,290 jobs · +13.8%
  19. 19. Physician Assistants · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,200 jobs · +20.4%
  20. 20. Computer Network Architects · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,170 jobs · +11.9%

Largest Iowa footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

25,800 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

47/50

Iowa employment published

National #1 growth

Wind Turbine Service Technicians

+49.9% · different from state footprint lead

Growth % and openings are national BLS projections. The employment and wage columns are Iowa OEWS estimates where published.

In Iowa, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) currently accounts for 900 OEWS jobs while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (25,800 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (12,270) and Financial Managers (9,130).

That mismatch is the useful Iowa read: percentage growth ranks a national change rate, not how many workers the state already employs in the role. Of the 50 national growth rows, 47 publish Iowa employment; 26 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 37% of summed employment sits in Healthcare Support Occupations (2 occupations).

Annual openings (growth plus replacements) still live on each occupation profile. A high percentage on a tiny base can add fewer Iowa seats than a mid-single-digit gain on a large OEWS count. Education and credential columns on the profile set the entry clock; several fast-growth rows need multi-year training before the projection window helps a new entrant.

Iowa footprint order on the national growth list

Rows with published Iowa employment are sorted by in-state jobs. Occupations without a state OEWS row stay at the bottom in national growth order.

# Occupation Growth %
1 Home Health and Personal Care Aides +17%
2 Cooks, Restaurant +14.9%
3 Financial Managers +14.8%
4 Software Developers +15.8%
5 Medical and Health Services Managers +23.2%
6 Industrial Machinery Mechanics +16.1%
7 Medical Assistants +12.5%
8 Computer and Information Systems Managers +15.2%
9 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors +16.8%
10 Animal Caretakers +12.1%
11 Nurse Practitioners +40.1%
12 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary +17.3%
13 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors +11.9%
14 Logisticians +16.7%
15 Data Scientists +33.5%
16 Speech-Language Pathologists +15%
17 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists +12.5%
18 Occupational Therapists +13.8%
19 Physician Assistants +20.4%
20 Computer Network Architects +11.9%
21 Information Security Analysts +28.5%
22 Physical Therapist Assistants +22%
23 Financial Examiners +18.5%
24 Respiratory Therapists +12.1%
25 Wind Turbine Service Technicians +49.9%
26 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary +16.8%
27 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers +13%
28 Psychiatric Technicians +20%
29 Medical Equipment Repairers +12.9%
30 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers +12.8%
31 Massage Therapists +15.4%
32 Actuaries +21.8%
33 Ophthalmic Medical Technicians +19.8%
34 Clinical and Counseling Psychologists +11.2%
35 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians +11.5%
36 Occupational Therapy Assistants +19.2%
37 Community Health Workers +11.3%
38 Mechanical Door Repairers +11.4%
39 Operations Research Analysts +21.5%
40 Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars +14.7%
41 Marriage and Family Therapists +12.6%
42 Hearing Aid Specialists +18.4%
43 Solar Photovoltaic Installers +42.1%
44 Forensic Science Technicians +12.8%
45 Epidemiologists +16.2%
46 Orthotists and Prosthetists +13.3%
47 Counselors, All Other +12.6%
48 Computer and Information Research Scientists +19.7%
49 Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists +14.6%
50 Therapists, All Other +11.5%

Nearby & Related Pages

Related growth and salary pages for Iowa and the broader U.S. labor market.

Iowa Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in Iowa

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest Iowa footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

Browse every occupation
Compare Home Health and Personal Care Aides side-by-side with another occupation →

About This Data

Employment projections come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program, covering 2024 to 2034. Growth rates represent the projected percentage change in national employment over the 10-year period.

State employment and salary data comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. Some occupations may not have state-level data for Iowa if employment is too small to report.

Last updated: May 2025. Source: BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034 and BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

State employment totals for Iowa from BLS OEWS State and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, May 2025.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. State employment and wage rows use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and openings use national BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.