Salaries in Des Moines.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.86x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$313,000
Principal AI Research Scientist
Median of All Roles
$133,000
AI Model Compression Engineer
Entry Level
$28,000
Home Health Aide
Salary data sourced from SEC filings, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and aggregated job postings across 50+ platforms. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Cost-of-living adjustments use Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2025 index). Last updated April 2026.
Des Moines, IA has a cost-of-living index of 0.86x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal AI Research Scientist at $313,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $133,000. Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community.
About the Des Moines market
Des Moines is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial, EMC Insurance, and a growing fintech community. The metro's extremely low cost of living and strong job market make it one of the best value cities for finance professionals. Tech employment is growing as insurtech companies expand.
InsuranceFinancial ServicesAgricultureGovernmentTechnology
Top 50 salaries in Des Moines
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 2 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 3 | Technical Fellow | $304,000 | $237,000 – $395,000 |
| 4 | Distinguished Engineer | $295,000 | $224,000 – $376,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Security | $295,000 | $230,000 – $384,000 |
| 6 | Senior VP of Product | $292,000 | $228,000 – $380,000 |
| 7 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $287,000 | $224,000 – $373,000 |
| 8 | Chief Security Officer | $284,000 | $221,000 – $369,000 |
| 9 | Chief AI Officer | $277,000 | $206,000 – $358,000 |
| 10 | SVP of Engineering | $277,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 12 | Senior VP of Design | $275,000 | $215,000 – $357,000 |
| 13 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 14 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $269,000 | $210,000 – $350,000 |
| 15 | Chief Legal Officer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 16 | SVP of Sales | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 17 | SVP of Strategy | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 18 | Principal AI Engineer | $267,000 | $208,000 – $346,000 |
| 19 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $266,000 | $208,000 – $345,000 |
| 20 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $265,000 | $207,000 – $346,000 |
| 21 | SVP of Technology | $265,000 | $207,000 – $346,000 |
| 22 | SVP of Data | $264,000 | $206,000 – $343,000 |
| 23 | L7 Software Engineer | $264,000 | $206,000 – $343,000 |
| 24 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 25 | CTO | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 26 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $261,000 | $204,000 – $339,000 |
| 27 | Chief Strategy Officer | $261,000 | $204,000 – $340,000 |
| 28 | Chief Commercial Officer | $261,000 | $204,000 – $340,000 |
| 29 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $259,000 | $193,000 – $338,000 |
| 30 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $259,000 | $202,000 – $336,000 |
| 31 | Chief Science Officer | $259,000 | $202,000 – $336,000 |
| 32 | SVP of Product | $259,000 | $202,000 – $336,000 |
| 33 | Principal Applied Scientist | $258,000 | $201,000 – $335,000 |
| 34 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $258,000 | $201,000 – $335,000 |
| 35 | Principal Cryptographer | $258,000 | $201,000 – $335,000 |
| 36 | VP of AI | $257,000 | $195,000 – $337,000 |
| 37 | VP of AI Research | $257,000 | $200,000 – $334,000 |
| 38 | Principal LLM Engineer | $256,000 | $200,000 – $333,000 |
| 39 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $254,000 | $198,000 – $329,000 |
| 40 | Senior Head of Security | $254,000 | $198,000 – $330,000 |
| 41 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $254,000 | $197,000 – $329,000 |
| 42 | Chief Technology Officer | $252,000 | $187,000 – $330,000 |
| 43 | Senior Director of Security | $252,000 | $197,000 – $327,000 |
| 44 | Chief Risk Officer | $252,000 | $196,000 – $327,000 |
| 45 | SVP of Finance | $252,000 | $196,000 – $327,000 |
| 46 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $251,000 | $195,000 – $326,000 |
| 47 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $251,000 | $195,000 – $326,000 |
| 48 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $251,000 | $195,000 – $326,000 |
| 49 | Chief Revenue Officer | $250,000 | $188,000 – $331,000 |
| 50 | Staff AI Compiler Engineer | $250,000 | $195,000 – $325,000 |
Tax considerations
Iowa has a flat 3.8% state income tax. Des Moines has no city income tax. The low tax rate and affordable housing create strong purchasing power.
Negotiating in Des Moines
Benchmark against national insurance industry pay scales. Des Moines insurance employers must compete with remote offers from larger metros and will often match.
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