SOC 25-4022 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists — Iowa
Iowa · 7 metro areas compared
In Iowa the median wage is $58,440.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to grow more slowly than average
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- +1.7%
- Openings per year
- 13,500
- Typical entry-level education
- Master's degree
Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.
Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Iowa.
Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.
Salary overview
In Iowa the median wage is $58,440. That is 14.4% lower than the national median of $68,270. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $39,550 and $76,040. The lowest tenth earn under $31,620, while the highest tenth earn more than $86,600.
Employment stands at 1,770, or 1.1 jobs per thousand held locally. Among the 51 states with published data for this occupation, Iowa ranks 42nd by median wage. Iowa City leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $77,680. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 351st of 711 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $31,620 | −53.7% |
| 25th | $39,550 | −42.1% |
| Median (50th) | $58,440 | −14.4% |
| 75th | $76,040 | +11.4% |
| 90th | $86,600 | +26.8% |
| Mean | $58,520 | −14.3% |
Highest-paying metro areas in Iowa
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa City | $77,680 | 170 | |
| 2 | Des Moines | $75,960 | 280 | |
| 3 | Cedar Rapids | $63,550 | 140 | |
| 4 | Waterloo | $63,180 | 80 | |
| 5 | Ames | $60,610 | 90 | |
| 6 | Davenport | $56,850 | 200 | |
| 7 | Sioux City | $50,700 | 50 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in Iowa run 12.2% below the national average, so the median of $58,440 goes as far as $66,560 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 2.5% below the national median in real terms.
Published median
$58,440as reported by BLSLocal price level
87.8US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$66,560US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $58,440 a year, 14.4% below the national median.
- Published pay spans $31,620 to $86,600 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 1,770 jobs in this occupation.
- It ranks 42nd of 51 states for this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is Iowa City, at $77,680.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in Iowa?
The median annual wage is $58,440, or $28.09 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.
Is that higher than the national average?
The national median for this occupation is $68,270, so pay in Iowa is 14.4% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.
What do the top earners make?
The top tenth of this occupation in Iowa earns more than $86,600 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $31,620 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.
Which area nearby pays the most?
The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Iowa City, at $77,680 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 1,770 jobs in this occupation in Iowa. Self-employed workers are not included.
Source and methodology
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.
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