Software Engineer Salary in Iowa and How to Increase It

By | July 18, 2023
Software Engineer Salary in Iowa
Software engineers in Iowa enjoy low cost of living in the State which makes their salaries worth it.

The software engineer salary in Iowa is estimated to be $89,963 yearly.

This post provides complete information on the salary that software engineers earn in Iowa and how they can increase it, including the cities and companies that pay the highest salaries in the State of Iowa.

Please, read on:

Located in the Lower Midwestern region of the USA, Iowa is well established for its lower cost of living standard.

In Iowa, software engineers earn salary of $89,963 yearly, which is 17% lower than the National average, and also take in $4000 yearly bonus.

Software Engineer Salary across the State of Iowa

Iowa ranks among the States that pay low salaries to software engineers in the US, with some of its cities paying $70,098 (Sioux City) and $56,140 (Dubuque).

In spite of the low salaries the State pays to software engineers, Iowa may still be considered as a good place to work and live in for software engineers considering the low living cost in the State.

Highest Paying Cities for Software Engineers in Iowa

Iowa has some cities that pay high salaries to software engineers within its territory, and the table below highlights some of these cities and how much software engineers can earn in each city:

   CitiesSalary Yearly ($)
Sioux City70,098
Ames68,244
Des Moines68,004
Davenport67,480
Cedar Rapids64,907
Ankeny63,664
Iowa City61,300
Waterloo60,795
West Des Moines57,067
Dubuque56,140
Iowa Cities that pay the highest salaries to software engineers

Software Engineer Salary Based on Skill in the State of Iowa

In the State of Iowa, software engineers with skills earn higher than those without any.

Highlighted below are the earning potentials of software engineers in Iowa based on certain skills:

  • Scala: earns 24.30%, which is $21,861 yearly salary.
  • Os kernels: earns 17.55%, which amounts to $15,788 as yearly salary.
  • Big data: earns 17.35: which gives $15,608 yearly as salary.
  • Microservices: earns 16.13% which is $14,511 yearly salary.
  • Machine learning: earns 11.71, which amounts to $10,534 yearly.
  • Data structure: earns 10.99%, which is $9,886 yearly salary.

Software Engineer Salary Based on Experience in Iowa

Software engineers in the State of Iowa don’t earn the same salaries with their counterparts who have higher years of experience.

Here is a list of experience levels software engineers can attain and how much salaries they can earn yearly:

  • – 1 year earns $81,177 yearly salary.
  • 1- 2 years on the job earns $83,401 yearly salary.
  • 3 – 5 years earn $90,000 yearly.
  • 6 – 9 years earn $95,394 yearly salary.
  • 10 years and above earn $109,289 yearly as salary.

10 Highest Paying Companies for Software Engineers in Iowa

Iowa has a number of software companies, but some pay relatively higher than others; the table below highlights the top 10 highest paying companies in the State of Iowa:

CompanySalary Yearly ($)
Citi190,755
Apple173,431
Facebook159,628
Octo Consulting Group153,511
Juniper Networks149,863
Capital One149,241
Oracle142,948
Salesforce137,817
Experia136,409
Cisco134,211
Companies in Iowa that pay the highest salaries to software engineers

More Benefits for Software Engineers in Iowa

Every job has benefits attached to it and the software engineering job in Iowa is not excluded.

Here are some of the benefits software engineers can enjoy working in the State of Iowa:

  • Stock options. Software engineers in Iowa may have the opportunity of getting company stocks as benefits and share profits with the company as declared.
  • Cash bonus. Software engineers in Iowa may also get some benefits in the form of cash bonus yearly. The cash bonus comes in various forms, either through merit, dedication to work, or awards of contributions made to a finished project.
  • Long term stimulus. Software engineers in Iowa may also enjoy long term incentives for working in their places. These incentives last as long as the software engineer continues to be active and sometimes beyond retirement.

What Related Job Titles to Software Engineer Earn in Iowa

Some jobs are related to the software engineering career with some earning higher or lower than the software engineer.

Here are related job titles to software engineering and how much salary they get:

  • Backend Developer earns $146,849 salary yearly.
  • Frontend Developer earns $117,635 yearly.
  • Full Stack Developer earns $96,084 yearly.
  • Application Developer earns $79,997 yearly.
  • Developer earns $38,171 yearly income.

Software Engineer Job and Salary Outlook in Iowa

Iowa is ranked among the low salary paying States to software engineers in the U.S (it’s 17% below National average).

It also has a low cost of living (92.1%), and due to its location (Lower Midwest), it is a good State to work and live in for software engineers.

If salary is the focus for the software engineer, Iowa might not be the ideal place to work and live in considering the low salary payout in the State.

But if the cost of living is the main consideration for the software engineer, then Iowa stands out as a good choice.

An increase in software engineering jobs is expected in the State of Iowa in the future because of the State’s ability to balance cost of living and gradual salary increase.

How to Increase Your Salary as a Software Engineer in Iowa

Software engineers in Iowa have the capacity to work and increase their earning potential by applying some of the following ideas:

  • Relocate to another city. Within the State of Iowa some cities pay higher than others; you can move from your present city to one that is paying higher salary.
  • Network with friends in other professions. In-house unadvertised jobs are sometimes the best in terms of paying higher salaries. When you network with friends and colleagues within or outside your profession you can have access to high paying positions that are vacant.
  • Get a relevant degree. Have a well-grounded degree in relevant areas of study and the salary increase will follow.
  • Get the much sought after skills. Software engineers in Iowa that need a boost in their salaries need to have skills that will make them relevant in their profession.

More Career Opportunities for Software Engineers in Iowa

Software engineers can also make a career from other profession, and these professions are either making more money yearly or lesser than the software engineer.

The list below highlights some different but related career opportunities that software engineers can also get into, and their salary potentials:

  • Aerospace engineers gross $107,000 yearly salary.
  • Sales engineers gross $105,000 yearly.
  • Chemical engineers take home $101,000 yearly.
  • Database administrators collect $91,000 yearly.
  • Distance learning coordinators earn $88,000 yearly salary.
  • IT managers earn $80,000 yearly.

Conclusion

Iowa is located within the Lower Midwestern US; the region is noted for her low cost of living standards, which is attracting a lot of people to work and live within her territories.

Iowa has a 17% below National average salary for software engineers, which is $89,963 yearly.

With the low cost of living, 92.1%, software engineers can make ends meet here in the State easily.

Information sources:indeed.com, hackreactor.com, ziprecuriter.com, careerexplorer.com, bls.gov