Registered Nurse salary in Des Moines, IA: $78,630 median.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 19780), which includes Des Moines, West Des Moines and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Des Moines city limits.
Registered Nurses in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area earned a median annual wage of $78,630 in May 2025, according to BLS (OEWS, SOC 29-1141); the OEWS mean annual wage was $81,710. That median is 19% below the U.S. median of $97,550. BLS estimates about 8,130 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Data Among the 368 metro areas whose estimate for this occupation meets TryHired's reliability rule, this metro ranks 324 by median wage.
Data Separately, BEA puts 2024 price levels across the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area at 91.7 (U.S. = 100): prices for the average consumer are about 8% below the national level. That is context, not an adjusted salary.
What area these numbers cover
Data The BLS geography behind every figure on this page.
- Search label
- Des Moines, IA
- BLS source geography
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
- Geography type
- Metropolitan Statistical Area
- CBSA code
- 19780
- States
- Iowa
- Delineation
- OMB Bulletin 23-01, as used by BLS OEWS May 2025
Local, state and national pay
Data Same occupation (SOC 29-1141), same BLS release (May 2025).
| Geography | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA (metro, CBSA 19780) | $78,630 | $81,710 | 8,130 |
| Iowa (state) | $78,630 | $80,540 | 34,420 |
| United States | $97,550 | $101,420 | 3,379,720 |
Registered Nurse salary in Iowa · National Registered Nurse salary · Careers in Des Moines, IA.
Data Nationally, BLS projects employment in this occupation to change +5.6% from 2025 to 2035. BLS does not publish metro projections in this dataset, so that is national context, not a local forecast.
Reliable metro medians in Iowa
Data Metro areas that include part of this state and pass the reliability rule.
Use the local number
Advice Uses only what you type. A local, sourced median is easier to agree to than a national one.
How this page is built
BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 19780) and SOC 29-1141 (Registered Nurses). Des Moines, IA is the search label for that area; BLS does not publish city-limit wages. Employment is the number of people working in the occupation (excluding the self-employed), not job openings. Ranks use only metro estimates that pass the reliability rule (500+ jobs, employment PRSE ≤ 20%, mean-wage PRSE ≤ 10%, non-degenerate distribution); suppressed values are never imputed. Searches this page answers include “registered nurse salary des moines ia” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Cost of living: wages are not adjusted for local prices.
- Pay at a specific employer, in one city's limits, or for self-employed workers.
- Local outlook: BLS projections here are national.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 metropolitan-area estimates (2018 SOC; metropolitan statistical areas per OMB Bulletin 23-01), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, national occupational projections 2025–35 (no metro projections are published in this dataset).
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 19, 2026).
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