Iowa · SOC 17-2131
Materials Engineer Salary in Iowa
VerifiedPublished wages for materials engineers in Iowa, straight from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2024 release — the full percentile distribution, employment concentration, and metro detail.
Materials Engineers in Iowa earn a median of $76,640 per year ($82,380 mean), per BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn $60,380–$102,030; the top 10% earn $110,620. That is 29% below the national median of $108,310, ranking Iowa #46 of 46 states that publish this occupation.
Median wage
Verified$76,640
-29% vs national
Top 10% earn
$110,620
90th percentile
Employed in state
310
Reliability Good (9.3% RSE)
Materials Engineer pay distribution — Iowa vs national
Every figure below is a published BLS percentile. Bars share one scale, so the two distributions compare directly.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileentry / low | $60,380 | -11% |
| 25th percentile | $60,380 | -30% |
| Median50th percentile | $76,640 | -29% |
| 75th percentile | $102,030 | -26% |
| 90th percentiletop earners | $110,620 | -36% |
| Meanaverage | $82,380 | -29% |
Where materials engineers earn most in Iowa
Metro areas in Iowa where BLS publishes a wage for SOC 17-2131. Metros BLS withholds are not listed.
| Metro area | Median | Top 10% | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| DavenportDavenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | $112,360 | $161,000 | 40 |
| WaterlooWaterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | $109,120 | $109,180 | 50 |
| OmahaOmaha, NE-IA | $96,500 | $120,740 | 40 |
Iowa engineering labor market
Concentration and pay level across all engineering occupations BLS publishes for this state.
Location quotient
1.36
Jobs per 1,000
0.20
State rank (pay)
#46 of 46
All engineering roles
$103,087
A location quotient of 1.36 means Iowa employs materials engineers at a meaningfully higher rate than the country as a whole — a genuine cluster for this discipline.
Frequently asked questions
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Source details
Published wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 17-2131 (Materials Engineers), Iowa (state).
Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →