High paying teaching and library jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Every teaching and library 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 teaching and library 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 teaching jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

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

1Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary$102,220
Doctoral or professional degree
$63,590 – $170,340330
2Instructional Coordinators$76,600
Master's degree
$60,890 – $101,120770
3Librarians and Media Collections Specialists$75,960
Master's degree
$37,600 – $91,640280
4Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$62,480
Bachelor's degree
$47,870 – $82,1002,660
5Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary$62,420
Bachelor's degree
$48,930 – $96,210260
6Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$61,650
Bachelor's degree
$46,090 – $79,6103,640
7Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$60,980
Bachelor's degree
$45,750 – $78,8801,150
8Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$60,310
Bachelor's degree
$46,520 – $79,420580
9Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School$59,780
Bachelor's degree
$50,110 – $79,500490
10Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education$59,370
Bachelor's degree
$47,380 – $75,870210
11Teachers and Instructors, All Other$54,080
Bachelor's degree
$53,480 – $70,530150
12Library Technicians$46,840
Postsecondary nondegree award
$32,240 – $62,010310
13Substitute Teachers, Short-Term$37,750
Bachelor's degree
$37,020 – $48,0501,780
14Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other$36,560
Bachelor's degree
$25,880 – $55,190270
15Self-Enrichment Teachers$34,880
High school diploma or equivalent
$21,750 – $66,040930
16Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary$34,620
Some college, no degree
$23,740 – $38,3405,140
17Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$33,850
Associate's degree
$29,170 – $46,9901,800

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	Health Specialties Teachers, PostsecondaryDoctoral or professional degree	$102,220	$63,590 – $170,340	330
2	Instructional CoordinatorsMaster's degree	$76,600	$60,890 – $101,120	770
3	Librarians and Media Collections SpecialistsMaster's degree	$75,960	$37,600 – $91,640	280
4	Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationBachelor's degree	$62,480	$47,870 – $82,100	2,660
5	Career/Technical Education Teachers, PostsecondaryBachelor's degree	$62,420	$48,930 – $96,210	260
6	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special EducationBachelor's degree	$61,650	$46,090 – $79,610	3,640
7	Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationBachelor's degree	$60,980	$45,750 – $78,880	1,150
8	Special Education Teachers, Secondary SchoolBachelor's degree	$60,310	$46,520 – $79,420	580
9	Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary SchoolBachelor's degree	$59,780	$50,110 – $79,500	490
10	Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special EducationBachelor's degree	$59,370	$47,380 – $75,870	210
11	Teachers and Instructors, All OtherBachelor's degree	$54,080	$53,480 – $70,530	150
12	Library TechniciansPostsecondary nondegree award	$46,840	$32,240 – $62,010	310
13	Substitute Teachers, Short-TermBachelor's degree	$37,750	$37,020 – $48,050	1,780
14	Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All OtherBachelor's degree	$36,560	$25,880 – $55,190	270
15	Self-Enrichment TeachersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$34,880	$21,750 – $66,040	930
16	Teaching Assistants, Except PostsecondarySome college, no degree	$34,620	$23,740 – $38,340	5,140
17	Preschool Teachers, Except Special EducationAssociate's degree	$33,850	$29,170 – $46,990	1,800

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 teaching and library jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

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