Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data — updated September 10, 2026.
| Iowa | National | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual salary | $60,580 | $72,224 | -16% |
| Median hourly wage | $29.12 | $34.72 | -16% |
Adjusted for local price levels (100 = national average), the cost-adjusted median is $68,998.
| City | Median | Entry Level | Experienced | Cost of Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City-level data coming soon. | ||||
The median annual salary for a Elementary School Teacher in Iowa is $60,580, or about $29.12 per hour, according to BLS OEWS data.
The national median for Elementary School Teachers is $72,224. Iowa is -16% below the national median.
Entry-level elementary school teachers in Iowa typically earn from varies by experience depending on the city and employer.
With 17,300 elementary school teacher jobs on record and a median salary of $60,580, Iowa offers competitive pay compared to the rest of the country.
By median annual wage, elementary school teachers rank 320 of the 711 occupations reported in Iowa — higher than 55% of them.
Among occupations in the same job family, Law Teachers, Postsecondary at $160,700, Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary at $128,490, Physics Teachers, Postsecondary at $104,270 — all figures are median annual wages for Iowa.
No. Every figure on this page is a gross (pre-tax) wage. Iowa levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 90.0 (100 = national average).
By median annual wage, elementary school teachers rank 320 of the 711 occupations reported in Iowa — higher than 55% of them.
| Occupation in the same job family | Median in Iowa | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $160,700 | $90 |
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $128,490 | $3,230 |
| Physics Teachers, Postsecondary | $104,270 | $120 |
| Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary | $103,360 | $430 |
| Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $101,080 | $230 |
| Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $97,660 | $50 |
Iowa levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 90.0 (100 = national average).
Ranking and comparison figures come from the same BLS OEWS release as the rest of this page, which covers 711 occupations in Iowa.