High paying creative and media jobs in Iowa

Every creative and media occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Iowa. 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 Iowa run 12.2% below the national average (2024), so a Iowa salary is worth about 1.14× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Iowa.

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

Find creative jobs in Iowa

OccupationMedian, Iowa · Employed

1Technical Writers$66,520
Bachelor's degree
$52,750 – $98,970640
2Public Relations Specialists$62,970
Bachelor's degree
$38,890 – $104,7002,890
3Producers and Directors$58,550
Bachelor's degree
$36,900 – $101,230720
4Interior Designers$58,040
Bachelor's degree
$39,510 – $118,770510
5Editors$57,200
Bachelor's degree
$38,050 – $108,820900
6Graphic Designers$50,310
Bachelor's degree
$36,970 – $75,5102,100
7Coaches and Scouts$49,350
Bachelor's degree
$19,010 – $97,9803,410
8Interpreters and Translators$48,150
Bachelor's degree
$34,330 – $67,290560
9News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists$43,540
Bachelor's degree
$33,160 – $82,950590
10Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers$39,680
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,080 – $56,5301,860

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

#	Occupation	MedianIowa	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Technical WritersBachelor's degree	$66,520	$52,750 – $98,970	640
2	Public Relations SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$62,970	$38,890 – $104,700	2,890
3	Producers and DirectorsBachelor's degree	$58,550	$36,900 – $101,230	720
4	Interior DesignersBachelor's degree	$58,040	$39,510 – $118,770	510
5	EditorsBachelor's degree	$57,200	$38,050 – $108,820	900
6	Graphic DesignersBachelor's degree	$50,310	$36,970 – $75,510	2,100
7	Coaches and ScoutsBachelor's degree	$49,350	$19,010 – $97,980	3,410
8	Interpreters and TranslatorsBachelor's degree	$48,150	$34,330 – $67,290	560
9	News Analysts, Reporters, and JournalistsBachelor's degree	$43,540	$33,160 – $82,950	590
10	Merchandise Displayers and Window TrimmersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,680	$30,080 – $56,530	1,860

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Iowa. 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.

More for Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in Iowa

Without a degree

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

High paying creative and media jobs in Iowa

More for Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa

By field in Iowa

Without a degree

High paying creative and media jobs in each state