Cedar Rapids, IA

Across all occupations in the Cedar Rapids, IA metropolitan area, the median wage is $49,360 a year ($23.73 an hour) and the mean $60,700, May 2025. That median is −3% against the US median of $50,980 and +2% against Iowa's $48,540. BLS counts 139,260 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is family medicine physicians; the largest is fast food and counter workers.

All occupations: Cedar Rapids, IA vs Iowa and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Cedar Rapids, IA area, Iowa and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Cedar Rapids, IA	Hourly	$14.00	$17.73	$23.73	$35.72	$48.18	$29.19	139,260
Cedar Rapids, IA	Annual	$29,120	$36,870	$49,360	$74,300	$100,210	$60,700	139,260
Iowa	Hourly	$13.91	$17.58	$23.34	$33.79	$47.90	$28.76	1,559,240
Iowa	Annual	$28,930	$36,570	$48,540	$70,290	$99,630	$59,830	1,559,240
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

389 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Iowa. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Cedar Rapids, IA

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$260,440	$125.21	80
2	Chief Executives	$182,210	$87.60	290
3	Dentists, General	$175,420	$84.34	130
4	Computer Hardware Engineers	$161,160	$77.48	60
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$152,530	$73.33	170
6	Lawyers in Iowa	$137,570	$66.14	330
7	Financial Managers in Iowa	$134,020	$64.43	780
8	Pharmacists	$133,520	$64.19	240
9	Marketing Managers	$133,330	$64.10	250
10	Sales Managers in Iowa	$131,510	$63.23	320
11	Human Resources Managers	$130,430	$62.71	160
12	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Iowa	$129,910	$62.46	470
13	Nurse Practitioners	$129,890	$62.45	240
14	Physician Assistants	$129,680	$62.35	80
15	Veterinarians	$127,160	$61.13	100
16	Managers, All Other in Iowa	$122,110	$58.71	340
17	Public Relations Managers	$121,320	$58.33	50
18	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$120,030	$57.71	130
19	Industrial Production Managers	$118,000	$56.73	310
20	Training and Development Managers	$116,580	$56.05	40

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Cedar Rapids, IA

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Iowa	3,590	25.81	1.04	$28,280
2	Retail Salespersons in Iowa	3,410	24.49	0.98	$33,430
3	Customer Service Representatives in Iowa	3,130	22.50	1.35	$45,510
4	Cashiers in Iowa	3,090	22.17	1.12	$29,270
5	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Iowa	3,030	21.75	1.64	$58,900
6	Registered Nurses in Iowa	2,880	20.67	0.95	$78,370
7	General and Operations Managers in Iowa	2,860	20.54	0.91	$90,620
8	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Iowa	2,730	19.63	1.03	$43,300
9	Stockers and Order Fillers in Iowa	2,270	16.31	0.89	$36,840
10	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Iowa	2,260	16.22	0.59	$35,370
11	Office Clerks, General in Iowa	2,020	14.53	0.92	$44,780
12	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Iowa	1,970	14.16	1.00	$35,610
13	Waiters and Waitresses in Iowa	1,920	13.78	0.94	$21,670
14	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Iowa	1,910	13.68	1.72	$65,490
15	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Iowa	1,870	13.46	1.47	$32,890
16	Nursing Assistants in Iowa	1,740	12.52	1.34	$39,110
17	Electricians in Iowa	1,690	12.16	2.50	$50,230
18	Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers	1,680	12.09	7.61	$44,000
19	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Iowa	1,290	9.27	0.84	$45,110
19	Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Iowa	1,290	9.29	1.03	$42,760

Most concentrated occupations in Cedar Rapids, IA

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	14.61	340	2.44	$64,670
2	Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers	7.61	1,680	12.09	$44,000
3	Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	4.79	530	3.84	$53,940
4	Dental Laboratory Technicians	4.70	140	1.04	$47,030
5	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment	3.64	210	1.52	$62,940
6	Chiropractors	3.55	130	0.91	$77,460
7	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	3.19	1,080	7.77	$67,700
8	Food Batchmakers	3.07	480	3.45	$77,920
9	Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	2.99	260	1.85	$83,470
10	New Accounts Clerks	2.95	100	0.70	$44,280

Occupation groups in Cedar Rapids, IA

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$103,600	$118,440	8,970	64.40	0.90
Architecture and Engineering	$88,080	$95,080	2,390	17.14	1.02
Computer and Mathematical	$85,630	$95,060	4,280	30.74	0.91
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$77,460	$89,350	7,440	53.40	0.85
Business and Financial Operations	$75,400	$81,850	8,330	59.81	0.88
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$74,910	$81,880	910	6.52	0.69
Legal	$67,580	$101,180	780	5.57	0.66
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$61,080	$63,370	6,290	45.15	1.15
Construction and Extraction	$59,640	$62,930	7,630	54.77	1.33
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$52,400	$64,080	1,940	13.95	1.06
Educational Instruction and Library	$50,210	$54,130	9,230	66.27	1.13
Community and Social Service	$49,460	$56,030	2,540	18.24	1.06
Production	$49,420	$54,040	11,470	82.37	1.50
Protective Service	$46,850	$54,760	2,750	19.74	0.81
Office and Administrative Support	$46,120	$48,840	15,260	109.55	0.96
Transportation and Material Moving	$45,650	$48,360	12,750	91.56	1.04
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$43,410	$46,690	230	1.62	0.58
Healthcare Support	$38,220	$40,830	5,600	40.24	0.79
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$36,870	$38,820	3,630	26.08	0.89
Sales and Related	$36,870	$51,450	12,570	90.23	1.05
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$29,560	$31,280	11,670	83.81	0.95
Personal Care and Service	$29,470	$34,300	2,630	18.86	0.90

Every occupation in Iowa, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 389 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Cedar Rapids, IA estimates (area 16300).

*: Wage estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Cedar Rapids, IA area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.