High paying office and admin jobs in Ames, IA

Every office and admin occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Ames, IA. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single office and admin 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 Ames, IA run 11.2% below the national average (2024), so a Ames, IA salary is worth about 1.13× 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 office jobs in Ames, IA

OccupationMedian, Ames, IA · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers$66,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,610 – $96,010280
2Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants$61,990
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,640 – $83,470140
3Postal Service Mail Carriers$60,840
No formal educational credential
$42,390 – $81,040130
4Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks$60,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,900 – $79,940140
5Public Safety Telecommunicators$58,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$50,700 – $68,02040
6Postal Service Clerks$58,470
No formal educational credential
$42,600 – $70,49040
7Court, Municipal, and License Clerks$57,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,980 – $67,92080
8Loan Interviewers and Clerks$57,580
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,390 – $74,84050
9Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks$56,920
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,340 – $69,43030
10Information and Record Clerks, All Other$53,710
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,560 – $62,01090
11Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive$48,740
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,640 – $61,600620
12Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance$48,680
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,980 – $78,08050
13Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other$48,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,290 – $61,94070
14Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks$47,970
Some college, no degree
$32,770 – $68,010470
15New Accounts Clerks$47,870
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,360 – $58,02050
16Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks$47,840
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,630 – $60,260210
17Billing and Posting Clerks$47,050
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,940 – $61,84090
18Office Clerks, General$45,450
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,770 – $62,820710
19Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping$45,200
Associate's degree
$31,750 – $71,08040
20Data Entry Keyers$45,140
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,870 – $56,83050
21Tellers$43,060
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,900 – $49,850180
22Customer Service Representatives$42,820
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,820 – $63,040690
23Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$40,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,530 – $49,030420
24Receptionists and Information Clerks$35,170
High school diploma or equivalent
$26,740 – $46,890170
25Library Assistants, Clerical$30,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$20,880 – $63,700110

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

#	Occupation	MedianAmes, IA	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$66,420	$45,610 – $96,010	280
2	Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative AssistantsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,990	$45,640 – $83,470	140
3	Postal Service Mail CarriersNo formal educational credential	$60,840	$42,390 – $81,040	130
4	Production, Planning, and Expediting ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,800	$45,900 – $79,940	140
5	Public Safety TelecommunicatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,610	$50,700 – $68,020	40
6	Postal Service ClerksNo formal educational credential	$58,470	$42,600 – $70,490	40
7	Court, Municipal, and License ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,800	$41,980 – $67,920	80
8	Loan Interviewers and ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,580	$39,390 – $74,840	50
9	Payroll and Timekeeping ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$56,920	$42,340 – $69,430	30
10	Information and Record Clerks, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$53,710	$38,560 – $62,010	90
11	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and ExecutiveHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,740	$36,640 – $61,600	620
12	Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and AmbulanceHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,680	$38,980 – $78,080	50
13	Office and Administrative Support Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$48,320	$39,290 – $61,940	70
14	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing ClerksSome college, no degree	$47,970	$32,770 – $68,010	470
15	New Accounts ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,870	$43,360 – $58,020	50
16	Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,840	$35,630 – $60,260	210
17	Billing and Posting ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,050	$37,940 – $61,840	90
18	Office Clerks, GeneralHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,450	$30,770 – $62,820	710
19	Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and TimekeepingAssociate's degree	$45,200	$31,750 – $71,080	40
20	Data Entry KeyersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,140	$32,870 – $56,830	50
21	TellersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,060	$36,900 – $49,850	180
22	Customer Service RepresentativesHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,820	$30,820 – $63,040	690
23	Medical Secretaries and Administrative AssistantsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$40,210	$34,530 – $49,030	420
24	Receptionists and Information ClerksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$35,170	$26,740 – $46,890	170
25	Library Assistants, ClericalHigh school diploma or equivalent	$30,070	$20,880 – $63,700	110

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

More for Ames, IA

Other metro areas in IA

By field in Ames, IA

Without a degree

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

High paying office and admin jobs in Ames, IA

More for Ames, IA

Other metro areas in IA

By field in Ames, IA

Without a degree

High paying office and admin jobs in each state