Recruiter salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

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

The middle half of recruiters in Des Moines-West Des Moines earns $56,050–$97,840. The top tenth earns $120,470 or more, 2.6 times the bottom tenth, close to the US pattern of 2.7 times. The mean ($78,330) is 9% 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 $41,790 wide, wider than in Iowa as a whole ($31,880) and the US ($40,770), so what a recruiter earns in Des Moines-West Des Moines depends more on the employer.

What to budget for a recruiter here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $26,240 over the median, the 25th only $15,550 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $33,858 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 $75,940 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Des Moines-West Des Moines, and the Iowa statewide median of $66,710 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

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

Pay is only part of it. Benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², which adds about $20,787 to the $71,600 median and brings it to $92,387 a year. 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 recruiters 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 #5 by median pay, between office managers ($71,690) and sales development representatives ($65,510). Project Coordinator is the highest at $101,150.

Measured against the US median, recruiters rank #13 of the 17 roles we track in Des Moines-West Des Moines (-5.7%), between accountants (-5.2%) and sales development representatives (-6.4%). The typical role here is at -1.1%, so, measured against the US, recruiters cost less in Des Moines-West Des Moines than the area's general pay level would suggest. Recruiters hold 5.4% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Des Moines-West Des Moines, 5.8% across Iowa and 5.8% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Iowa

Across the 12 areas of Iowa with data for this job, the median runs from $61,900 in Waterloo-Cedar Falls to $79,670 in Davenport-Moline, a gap of $17,770 a year. No other area in Iowa has as many recruiters, 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 #59 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, St. Louis and Chambersburg pay just above Des Moines-West Des Moines and Kahului-Wailuku and Santa Fe just below. All four are within $300 a year of the median in Des Moines-West Des Moines. Of the three markets with about as many recruiters, two pay more.

Questions

Sources

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