Recruiter salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA

Pay in Waterloo-Cedar Falls against Iowa and the US

Recruiters at the 90th percentile earn $99,810, 2.5 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.7. The middle half of recruiters in Waterloo-Cedar Falls earns $51,100–$80,070. The mean ($67,980) 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 only $28,970 wide, against $31,880 across Iowa and $40,770 nationally: employers in Waterloo-Cedar Falls pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a recruiter here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $18,170 over the median, the 25th only $10,800 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $23,445 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, and the Iowa statewide median of $66,710 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Waterloo-Cedar Falls

At the $61,900 median, a local hire costs about $79,871 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $17,971 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 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls

Of the 17 roles we track in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, this one ranks #4 by median pay, between marketing specialists ($64,000) and office managers ($60,420). Project Coordinator is the highest at $81,600.

Measured against the US median, recruiters rank #13 of the 17 roles we track in Waterloo-Cedar Falls (-18.5%), between sales development representatives (-18.0%) and marketing specialists (-18.7%). The typical role here is at -12.1%, so, measured against the US, recruiters cost less in Waterloo-Cedar Falls than the area's general pay level would suggest. Recruiters hold 5.6% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, 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. All 8 areas in Iowa with more recruiters than Waterloo-Cedar Falls also pay more, among them Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA ($71,600) and Davenport-Moline, IA-IL ($79,670).

Waterloo-Cedar Falls against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Waterloo-Cedar Falls is #323 of 521 US areas for this job. It is a mid-sized market, and its pay is in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside Iowa, Williamsport and Canton-Massillon pay just above Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Bowling Green and Omaha just below. All four are within $60 a year of the median in Waterloo-Cedar Falls. Of the three markets with about as many recruiters, two pay more.

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