Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data — updated September 10, 2026.
| Iowa | National | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual salary | $78,630 | $98,331 | -20% |
| Median hourly wage | $37.80 | $47.27 | -20% |
Adjusted for local price levels (100 = national average), the cost-adjusted median is $89,556.
| City | Median | Entry Level | Experienced | Cost of Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City-level data coming soon. | ||||
The median annual salary for a Registered Nurse in Iowa is $78,630, or about $37.80 per hour, according to BLS OEWS data.
The national median for Registered Nurses is $98,331. Iowa is -20% below the national median.
Entry-level registered nurses in Iowa typically earn from varies by experience depending on the city and employer.
With 34,420 registered nurse jobs on record and a median salary of $78,630, Iowa offers competitive pay compared to the rest of the country.
By median annual wage, registered nurses rank 182 of the 711 occupations reported in Iowa — higher than 74% of them.
Among occupations in the same job family, Emergency Medicine Physicians at $429,050, Dermatologists at $424,970, Radiologists at $405,220 — 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, registered nurses rank 182 of the 711 occupations reported in Iowa — higher than 74% of them.
| Occupation in the same job family | Median in Iowa | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | $429,050 | $290 |
| Dermatologists | $424,970 | — |
| Radiologists | $405,220 | $130 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $394,900 | $90 |
| Surgeons, All Other | $370,390 | $110 |
| Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $356,020 | $180 |
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.