High paying science jobs in Iowa

Every science 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 science 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 science jobs in Iowa

OccupationMedian, Iowa · Employed

1Soil and Plant Scientists$96,310
Bachelor's degree
$56,270 – $170,820960
2Occupational Health and Safety Specialists$87,830
Bachelor's degree
$59,080 – $126,4801,310
3Chemists$86,100
Bachelor's degree
$65,270 – $137,560570
4Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists$83,850
Doctoral or professional degree
$59,580 – $142,1401,060
5Biological Scientists, All Other$82,720
Bachelor's degree
$51,910 – $117,440550
6Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$78,780
Bachelor's degree
$54,340 – $117,040690
7Conservation Scientists$69,240
Bachelor's degree
$50,320 – $97,870610
8Biological Technicians$48,050
Bachelor's degree
$39,310 – $72,510800

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	Soil and Plant ScientistsBachelor's degree	$96,310	$56,270 – $170,820	960
2	Occupational Health and Safety SpecialistsBachelor's degree	$87,830	$59,080 – $126,480	1,310
3	ChemistsBachelor's degree	$86,100	$65,270 – $137,560	570
4	Medical Scientists, Except EpidemiologistsDoctoral or professional degree	$83,850	$59,580 – $142,140	1,060
5	Biological Scientists, All OtherBachelor's degree	$82,720	$51,910 – $117,440	550
6	Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including HealthBachelor's degree	$78,780	$54,340 – $117,040	690
7	Conservation ScientistsBachelor's degree	$69,240	$50,320 – $97,870	610
8	Biological TechniciansBachelor's degree	$48,050	$39,310 – $72,510	800

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 science jobs in Iowa

More for Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa

By field in Iowa

Without a degree

High paying science jobs in each state