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Manufacturing Compass

Iowa manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Iowa manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

4,244

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
1.1%

Employment

226,381

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
1.8%

Total wages

$16.3 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.5%

Average weekly wage

$1,388

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−12.6%

Average annual pay

$72,157

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−12.6%

Location quotient

1.73

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Iowa is 1.73 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
    61,966
    Establishments
    633
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,607
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +10.6%
    Location quotient
    3.52
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    41,379
    Establishments
    473
    Avg. annual pay
    $84,819
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.9%
    Location quotient
    3.62
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    21,152
    Establishments
    648
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,248
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.3%
    Location quotient
    1.44
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    12,436
    Establishments
    282
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,905
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.9%
    Location quotient
    1.37
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,416
    Establishments
    111
    Avg. annual pay
    $104,873
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −31.3%
    Location quotient
    1.12
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    12,232
    Establishments
    175
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,451
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −29.5%
    Location quotient
    0.68
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    11,765
    Establishments
    191
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,879
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.5%
    Location quotient
    1.58
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    10,202
    Establishments
    164
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,152
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +22.5%
    Location quotient
    2.40
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    7,200
    Establishments
    63
    Avg. annual pay
    $84,653
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.8%
    Location quotient
    1.90
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,325
    Establishments
    68
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,038
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.2%
    Location quotient
    1.51
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    5,958
    Establishments
    350
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,259
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.2%
    Location quotient
    1.59
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,654
    Establishments
    198
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,062
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.9%
    Location quotient
    1.56
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,641
    Establishments
    365
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,037
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.7%
    Location quotient
    1.33
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    3,921
    Establishments
    234
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,844
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.4%
    Location quotient
    0.62
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    3,155
    Establishments
    43
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,192
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.7%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,016
    Establishments
    149
    Avg. annual pay
    $41,857
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.6%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    745
    Establishments
    20
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,175
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.6%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    527
    Establishments
    45
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,079
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.0%
    Location quotient
    0.52
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    348
    Establishments
    20
    Avg. annual pay
    $103,040
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.2%
    Location quotient
    0.32
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    250
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,979
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.6%
    Location quotient
    0.94
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    94
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,739
    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/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (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