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Manufacturing Compass

Iowa manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Iowa manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Iowa combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

4,263

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
1.1%

Employment

223,594

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Total wages

$15.5 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.5%

Average weekly wage

$1,332

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
−12.9%

Average annual pay

$69,239

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
−12.9%

Location quotient

1.71

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Iowa is 1.71 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    60,133
    Establishments
    645
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,432
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +11.4%
    Location quotient
    3.47
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    40,140
    Establishments
    465
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,827
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.3%
    Location quotient
    3.55
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    20,976
    Establishments
    648
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,571
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.0%
    Location quotient
    1.44
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    12,365
    Establishments
    176
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,508
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −29.4%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    12,182
    Establishments
    190
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,894
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.8%
    Location quotient
    1.59
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,125
    Establishments
    106
    Avg. annual pay
    $102,935
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −29.8%
    Location quotient
    1.09
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    12,095
    Establishments
    274
    Avg. annual pay
    $84,938
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.6%
    Location quotient
    1.32
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    10,346
    Establishments
    159
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,102
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.9%
    Location quotient
    2.37
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    7,260
    Establishments
    64
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,791
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.8%
    Location quotient
    1.94
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,369
    Establishments
    66
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,339
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.8%
    Location quotient
    1.54
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    6,156
    Establishments
    361
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,835
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.3%
    Location quotient
    1.59
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,895
    Establishments
    204
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,065
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.5%
    Location quotient
    1.53
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,618
    Establishments
    370
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,332
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.7%
    Location quotient
    1.32
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    4,035
    Establishments
    238
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,176
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.9%
    Location quotient
    0.63
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    3,404
    Establishments
    46
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,184
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.1%
    Location quotient
    0.92
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,566
    Establishments
    149
    Avg. annual pay
    $37,353
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −35.3%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    742
    Establishments
    21
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,982
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.4%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    507
    Establishments
    47
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,484
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.8%
    Location quotient
    0.47
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    329
    Establishments
    20
    Avg. annual pay
    $94,383
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.8%
    Location quotient
    0.31
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    255
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,151
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.9%
    Location quotient
    0.94
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    96
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,866
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.8%
    Location quotient
    0.10

03By year

Iowa manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Iowa by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022223,594$69,239−12.9%
2023226,381$72,157−12.6%
2024222,310$74,639−12.7%
2025216,451$76,771−14.2%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology