Bookkeeper salary in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area

Pay in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area against Iowa and the US

Bookkeepers at the 90th percentile earn $63,500, 2.0 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.1. The middle half of bookkeepers in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area earns $39,310–$54,180. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $14,870 wide, against $16,400 across Iowa and $17,950 nationally: employers in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a bookkeeper here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $7,290 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $7,580, or about $9,781 once benefits are added. 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 $50,670 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area, and the Iowa statewide median of $48,180 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area

At the $46,600 median, a local hire costs about $60,129 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $13,529 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 bookkeepers 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 the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area

Of the 15 roles we track in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area, this one ranks #9 by median pay, between sales development representatives ($47,120) and HR assistants ($43,970). Project Coordinator is the highest at $84,560.

Measured against the US median, bookkeepers rank #3 of the 15 roles we track in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area (-8.0%), between customer support specialists (-7.1%) and administrative assistants (-10.9%). The typical role here is at -16.1%, so, measured against the US, bookkeepers cost more in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area than the area's general pay level would suggest. Bookkeepers hold 16.6% of the jobs in the 14 of these roles with a job count in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area, 10.5% across Iowa and 8.9% 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 $46,600 in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area to $50,610 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, a gap of $4,010 a year. All 6 areas in Iowa with more bookkeepers than the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area also pay more, among them Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA ($50,610) and the Southeast Iowa nonmetro area ($46,640).

the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area is #326 of 521 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside Iowa, Grand Island and Amarillo pay just above the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area and Lima and Youngstown-Warren just below. All four are within $90 a year of the median in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area. Of the three markets with about as many bookkeepers, two pay more.

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