Salaries in Des Moines.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 0.86x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$295,000

Senior VP of Product

Median of All Roles

$119,000

Senior Accessibility Specialist

Entry Level

$29,000

Data Entry Specialist

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated August 2026.

Des Moines, IA has a cost-of-living index of 0.86x the national average. The highest-paying role is Senior VP of Product at $295,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $119,000. Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community.

About the Des Moines market

Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community. The city's extremely low cost of living and strong job market make it one of the best value cities for finance professionals.

InsuranceFinancial ServicesAgricultureGovernmentTechnology

Top 50 salaries in Des Moines

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Senior VP of Product	$295,000	$230,000 – $384,000
2	SVP of Product	$287,000	$244,000 – $373,000
3	Senior VP of Security	$281,000	$239,000 – $365,000
4	SVP of Engineering	$276,000	$234,000 – $358,000
5	Chief AI Officer	$275,000	$204,000 – $354,000
6	SVP of Technology	$273,000	$232,000 – $355,000
7	Senior VP of Design	$272,000	$213,000 – $353,000
8	Chief Security Officer	$272,000	$212,000 – $354,000
9	Chief Strategy Officer	$272,000	$212,000 – $354,000
10	VP of Developer Experience	$271,000	$231,000 – $352,000
11	SVP of AI Innovation	$270,000	$229,000 – $351,000
12	SVP of Data	$270,000	$229,000 – $351,000
13	VP of Machine Learning	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
14	SVP of Finance	$268,000	$228,000 – $348,000
15	VP of Site Reliability Engineering	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
16	VP of Cybersecurity	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
17	VP of AI	$266,000	$226,000 – $346,000
18	Senior Head of Security	$264,000	$225,000 – $343,000
19	CTO	$263,000	$205,000 – $342,000
20	VP of Mobile	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
21	VP of Partner Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
22	VP of Field Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
23	VP of Support Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
24	VP of Technical Support	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
25	VP of Security Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
26	SVP of Sales	$263,000	$205,000 – $342,000
27	VP of Quality	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
28	VP of Data Science	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
29	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$261,000	$203,000 – $339,000
30	VP of IT	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
31	VP of Privacy	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
32	VP of Risk	$261,000	$221,000 – $339,000
33	Chief Architect	$261,000	$221,000 – $339,000
34	VP of Application Engineering	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
35	Senior Head of Product	$260,000	$204,000 – $339,000
36	Chief Science Officer	$259,000	$202,000 – $336,000
37	VP of AI Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
38	VP of Analytics	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
39	VP of Information Technology	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
40	VP of Reliability Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
41	VP of AI Product	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
42	VP of Security	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
43	Chief Digital Officer	$255,000	$199,000 – $332,000
44	VP of Data	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
45	VP of Database Engineering	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
46	SVP of Strategy	$255,000	$199,000 – $332,000
47	Chief Technology Officer	$254,000	$189,000 – $333,000
48	Chief Transformation Officer	$254,000	$198,000 – $331,000
49	SVP of Marketing	$254,000	$198,000 – $331,000
50	VP of AI Research	$253,000	$215,000 – $329,000

Tax considerations

Iowa has a flat 3.8% state income tax. Des Moines has no city income tax. The low rate and affordable housing create strong purchasing power.

Negotiating in Des Moines

Benchmark against national insurance industry pay scales. Des Moines insurance employers compete with remote offers from larger metros.

Other cities

New York San Francisco Los Angeles Chicago Seattle Austin Boston Denver Dallas Atlanta Miami Houston

All Roles Interview Prep Resume Score Job Search Guide

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Salaries

Salaries in Des Moines.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 0.86x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$295,000

Senior VP of Product

Median of All Roles

$119,000

Senior Accessibility Specialist

Entry Level

$29,000

Data Entry Specialist

About the Des Moines market

InsuranceFinancial ServicesAgricultureGovernmentTechnology

Top 50 salaries in Des Moines

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Senior VP of Product	$295,000	$230,000 – $384,000
2	SVP of Product	$287,000	$244,000 – $373,000
3	Senior VP of Security	$281,000	$239,000 – $365,000
4	SVP of Engineering	$276,000	$234,000 – $358,000
5	Chief AI Officer	$275,000	$204,000 – $354,000
6	SVP of Technology	$273,000	$232,000 – $355,000
7	Senior VP of Design	$272,000	$213,000 – $353,000
8	Chief Security Officer	$272,000	$212,000 – $354,000
9	Chief Strategy Officer	$272,000	$212,000 – $354,000
10	VP of Developer Experience	$271,000	$231,000 – $352,000
11	SVP of AI Innovation	$270,000	$229,000 – $351,000
12	SVP of Data	$270,000	$229,000 – $351,000
13	VP of Machine Learning	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
14	SVP of Finance	$268,000	$228,000 – $348,000
15	VP of Site Reliability Engineering	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
16	VP of Cybersecurity	$268,000	$229,000 – $349,000
17	VP of AI	$266,000	$226,000 – $346,000
18	Senior Head of Security	$264,000	$225,000 – $343,000
19	CTO	$263,000	$205,000 – $342,000
20	VP of Mobile	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
21	VP of Partner Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
22	VP of Field Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
23	VP of Support Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
24	VP of Technical Support	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
25	VP of Security Engineering	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
26	SVP of Sales	$263,000	$205,000 – $342,000
27	VP of Quality	$263,000	$224,000 – $342,000
28	VP of Data Science	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
29	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$261,000	$203,000 – $339,000
30	VP of IT	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
31	VP of Privacy	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
32	VP of Risk	$261,000	$221,000 – $339,000
33	Chief Architect	$261,000	$221,000 – $339,000
34	VP of Application Engineering	$261,000	$222,000 – $339,000
35	Senior Head of Product	$260,000	$204,000 – $339,000
36	Chief Science Officer	$259,000	$202,000 – $336,000
37	VP of AI Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
38	VP of Analytics	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
39	VP of Information Technology	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
40	VP of Reliability Engineering	$258,000	$220,000 – $335,000
41	VP of AI Product	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
42	VP of Security	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
43	Chief Digital Officer	$255,000	$199,000 – $332,000
44	VP of Data	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
45	VP of Database Engineering	$255,000	$217,000 – $332,000
46	SVP of Strategy	$255,000	$199,000 – $332,000
47	Chief Technology Officer	$254,000	$189,000 – $333,000
48	Chief Transformation Officer	$254,000	$198,000 – $331,000
49	SVP of Marketing	$254,000	$198,000 – $331,000
50	VP of AI Research	$253,000	$215,000 – $329,000

Tax considerations

Iowa has a flat 3.8% state income tax. Des Moines has no city income tax. The low rate and affordable housing create strong purchasing power.

Negotiating in Des Moines

Benchmark against national insurance industry pay scales. Des Moines insurance employers compete with remote offers from larger metros.

Other cities

New York San Francisco Los Angeles Chicago Seattle Austin Boston Denver Dallas Atlanta Miami Houston

All Roles Interview Prep Resume Score Job Search Guide

Know the number. Get the offer.

Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.

Start

Salaries in Des Moines.

About the Des Moines market

Top 50 salaries in Des Moines

Tax considerations

Negotiating in Des Moines

Other cities

Related

Know the number. Get the offer.

Salaries in Des Moines.

About the Des Moines market

Top 50 salaries in Des Moines

Tax considerations

Negotiating in Des Moines

Other cities

Related

Know the number. Get the offer.