Accountant salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Pay in Des Moines-West Des Moines against Iowa and the US

The middle half of accountants in Des Moines-West Des Moines earns $64,450–$102,330. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $128,130, only 2.3 times the bottom tenth, against 2.6 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. The mean ($87,250) is 10% over the median, so a group of high earners pulls the average up; price a typical hire from the median. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is $37,880 wide, between the figure for Iowa ($36,060) and the US figure ($42,790).

What to budget for an accountant here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $23,040 over the median, the 25th only $14,840 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $29,729 a year in employer cost. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $83,680 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Des Moines-West Des Moines, and the Iowa statewide median of $77,440 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

What a hire really costs in Des Moines-West Des Moines

At the $79,290 median, a local hire costs about $102,310 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $23,020 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for accountants we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Des Moines-West Des Moines

Of the 17 roles we track in Des Moines-West Des Moines, this one ranks #2 by median pay, after project coordinators ($101,150); marketing specialists come next at $76,580.

Measured against the US median, accountants rank #12 of the 17 roles we track in Des Moines-West Des Moines (-5.2%), between paralegals (-4.5%) and recruiters (-5.7%). The typical role here is at -1.1%, so, measured against the US, accountants cost less in Des Moines-West Des Moines than the area's general pay level would suggest. Accountants hold 10.7% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Des Moines-West Des Moines, 9.7% across Iowa and 9.1% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Iowa

Across the 12 areas of Iowa with data for this job, the median runs from $70,190 in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area to $79,320 in Ames, a gap of $9,130 a year. No other area in Iowa has as many accountants, and 10 of the other 11 pay less.

Des Moines-West Des Moines against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Des Moines-West Des Moines is #51 of 521 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, with pay near the middle of the US range. Outside Iowa, Charleston-North Charleston and Visalia pay just above Des Moines-West Des Moines and Indianapolis-Carmel and Rapid City just below. All four are within $110 a year of the median in Des Moines-West Des Moines. Of the three markets with about as many accountants, all three pay more.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.