High paying creative and media jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Every creative and media occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single creative and media job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA run 8.3% below the national average (2024), so a Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA salary is worth about 1.09× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find creative jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

OccupationMedian, Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA · Employed

1Art Directors$90,000
Bachelor's degree
$65,740 – $131,410130
2Public Relations Specialists$70,660
Bachelor's degree
$43,850 – $118,3401,050
3Technical Writers$69,450
Bachelor's degree
$55,850 – $99,830200
4Editors$63,720
Bachelor's degree
$43,650 – $101,340260
5Producers and Directors$62,370
Bachelor's degree
$37,710 – $110,760210
6Interior Designers$57,840
Bachelor's degree
$44,510 – $121,020190
7Graphic Designers$56,520
Bachelor's degree
$37,570 – $79,640740
8Coaches and Scouts$46,710
Bachelor's degree
$15,080 – $83,850860
9Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers$43,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,130 – $52,720590
10Photographers$42,080
High school diploma or equivalent
$21,360 – $78,920170

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianDes Moines-West Des Moines, IA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Art DirectorsBachelor's degree	$90,000	$65,740 – $131,410	130
2	Public Relations SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$70,660	$43,850 – $118,340	1,050
3	Technical WritersBachelor's degree	$69,450	$55,850 – $99,830	200
4	EditorsBachelor's degree	$63,720	$43,650 – $101,340	260
5	Producers and DirectorsBachelor's degree	$62,370	$37,710 – $110,760	210
6	Interior DesignersBachelor's degree	$57,840	$44,510 – $121,020	190
7	Graphic DesignersBachelor's degree	$56,520	$37,570 – $79,640	740
8	Coaches and ScoutsBachelor's degree	$46,710	$15,080 – $83,850	860
9	Merchandise Displayers and Window TrimmersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,320	$32,130 – $52,720	590
10	PhotographersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,080	$21,360 – $78,920	170

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA to rank honestly.

High paying creative and media jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

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