High paying transportation jobs in Iowa with no experience

The best paid transportation occupations in Iowa that require neither a degree nor prior experience in a related job. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

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 transportation jobs in Iowa

OccupationMedian, Iowa · Employed

1Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$58,070
Postsecondary nondegree award
$42,390 – $77,91035,040
2Conveyor Operators and Tenders$56,900
No formal educational credential
$43,190 – $63,780590
3Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$49,850
No formal educational credential
$38,220 – $63,3501,780
4Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$47,590
No formal educational credential
$38,640 – $61,0007,770
5Driver/Sales Workers$47,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$22,670 – $64,7604,400
6Bus Drivers, School$46,320
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,440 – $63,2004,840
7Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$45,890
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,520 – $60,7301,560
8Machine Feeders and Offbearers$45,250
No formal educational credential
$34,540 – $56,850560
9Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$43,490
No formal educational credential
$32,790 – $53,62030,890
10Light Truck Drivers$42,750
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,600 – $92,4609,680
11Packers and Packagers, Hand$37,470
No formal educational credential
$29,870 – $48,0004,090
12Stockers and Order Fillers$36,640
No formal educational credential
$28,450 – $50,11026,770
13Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$35,920
No formal educational credential
$28,120 – $45,3704,190
14Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$32,580
No formal educational credential
$25,690 – $44,8401,880
15Parking Attendants$30,070
No formal educational credential
$21,180 – $37,8801,050

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	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$58,070	$42,390 – $77,910	35,040
2	Conveyor Operators and TendersNo formal educational credential	$56,900	$43,190 – $63,780	590
3	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$49,850	$38,220 – $63,350	1,780
4	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$47,590	$38,640 – $61,000	7,770
5	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,120	$22,670 – $64,760	4,400
6	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,320	$28,440 – $63,200	4,840
7	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,890	$35,520 – $60,730	1,560
8	Machine Feeders and OffbearersNo formal educational credential	$45,250	$34,540 – $56,850	560
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$43,490	$32,790 – $53,620	30,890
10	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$42,750	$29,600 – $92,460	9,680
11	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$37,470	$29,870 – $48,000	4,090
12	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$36,640	$28,450 – $50,110	26,770
13	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$35,920	$28,120 – $45,370	4,190
14	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$32,580	$25,690 – $44,840	1,880
15	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$30,070	$21,180 – $37,880	1,050

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 transportation jobs in Iowa with no experience

More for Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa

By field in Iowa

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no experience