ML Product Manager.
Des Moines.
$150,000
median salary, 12% below the national average
$113,000 to $196,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
ML Product Manager pay in Des Moines ranges from $113,000 to $196,000 in 2026. The median is $150,000, 12% below the national average. Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community. Every dollar in that range is negotiable if you come prepared. 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 ML Product 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 $164,840 for Computer and Information Systems Managers (SOC 11-3021) in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area, based on 2,050 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$111,990
25th percentile
$131,980
Median
$164,840
75th percentile
$183,360
90th percentile
$215,440
Workers surveyed
2,050
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Computer and Information Systems Managers (SOC 11-3021) rather than ML Product Manager specifically. The Des Moinesrange 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 11-3021Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $135,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$98,000
to $120,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$128,000
to $158,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$165,000
to $195,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$188,000
to $233,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $65,000 to the total package.
Base
$150,000
Equity
$39,000
Bonus
$17,000
Signing
$9,000
Estimated total: $215,000
How Des Moines compares.
Des Moines, IA
$150,000
Cost of living: 14% below average
National Average
$171,000
Des Moines is $21,000 below
ML Product Manager salary by city.
Salary by role in Des Moines.
What you should know.
If you are interviewing for ML Product Manager roles in Des Moines, here is what you are walking into. 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. ML Product Manager compensation scales with team size under management, scope of organizational responsibility, and track record of hiring and retaining talent. Equity is a major component at roughly 25% of base — candidates should weight stock grants as heavily as salary when comparing offers. At the mid-management level, the scope of the organization under management ($10M budget vs $100M+) drives the largest compensation variance.
ML Product 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 ML Product Managers runs roughly $223K at median when factoring base + equity (25% of base annually) + bonus (15% of base). Equity is the single largest non-base component — candidates should model vesting schedules (typically 4-year with 1-year cliff) and compare grant values across offers carefully. 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 $150,000, 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 ML Product Managers in Des Moines runs from $113,000 to $196,000. 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?
- A Dentist in Des Moines earns $152,000 (1% more)
- The highest-paying role in Des Moines is CTO at $263,000
- See all ai product roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
ML Product Manager salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Des Moines.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to ML Product Managers in Des Moines.
Related tools.
Do you work as a ml product manager in Des Moines?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools