Do welders make more in Iowa City or Des Moines?

Des Moines pays more: the median is $57,780 in Iowa City and $59,980 in Des Moines, a 4% difference.

Welder salary in Iowa City, IA

Updated September 27, 2026 with BLS data from May 2025

Welders in the Iowa City, IA area earn a median of $57,780 a year, or $27.78 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn more than $75,420. That's 5% more than the Iowa median of $55,090.

Median yearly pay$57,780

Bottom 10% under$46,480Top 10% over$75,420

Entry-level starting pay (estimate): $22.35/hr
Jobs in this area: 130
After cost of living: $63,140
Median hourly pay: $27.78/hr
vs U.S. median: +7%
vs Iowa median: +5%
Mean (average) pay: $58,500 a year · $28.13 an hour

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (area 26980, Iowa City, IA). Excludes self-employed welders. Cost of living: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. *Starting pay is estimated from the 10th percentile; BLS does not report pay by license level.

Pay by percentile

What welders in Iowa City, IA earn at each point of the pay range, May 2025: 10% earn less than the 10th percentile, half earn less than the median, and 10% earn more than the 90th.

Percentile	Hourly	Yearly
10th percentile	$22.35	$46,480
25th percentile	$23.41	$48,680
Median (50th)	$27.78	$57,780
75th percentile	$31.26	$65,030
90th percentile	$36.26	$75,420

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS yearly figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours.

How Iowa City, IA compares

Iowa City ranks 4th of 9 Iowa metro areas for welder pay.
Welders are less concentrated in the Iowa City area than nationally: 1.4 of every 1,000 jobs, 0.51 times the U.S. share.

Other Iowa metro areas

Other trades in Iowa City, IA

Electrician HVAC technician Plumber Diesel mechanic Carpenter Heavy equipment operator Auto mechanic

Questions

Do welders make more in Iowa City or Des Moines?: Des Moines pays more: the median is $57,780 in Iowa City and $59,980 in Des Moines, a 4% difference.

About this data

Wages are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, occupation 51-4121 (Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers), area code 26980 (Iowa City, IA). BLS counts wage and salary workers only, so self-employed welders and business owners aren't included. The cost-of-living figure divides the median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity for 2024 (91.5, where the U.S. average is 100). Page updated September 27, 2026. How we calculate these figures