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Manufacturing Compass

Iowa manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Iowa manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

4,243

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
1.1%

Employment

222,310

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
1.7%

Total wages

$16.6 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,435

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−12.7%

Average annual pay

$74,639

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−12.7%

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
    60,832
    Establishments
    638
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,028
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +12.4%
    Location quotient
    3.42
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    40,424
    Establishments
    468
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,130
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.1%
    Location quotient
    3.62
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    20,666
    Establishments
    641
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,340
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.4%
    Location quotient
    1.43
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    12,586
    Establishments
    176
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,263
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.0%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,477
    Establishments
    113
    Avg. annual pay
    $110,472
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.0%
    Location quotient
    1.21
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    12,399
    Establishments
    287
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,029
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.8%
    Location quotient
    1.38
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    11,629
    Establishments
    194
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,137
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.5%
    Location quotient
    1.60
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,909
    Establishments
    163
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,663
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +16.4%
    Location quotient
    2.38
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    6,818
    Establishments
    63
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,159
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.6%
    Location quotient
    1.83
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,243
    Establishments
    66
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,833
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.2%
    Location quotient
    1.47
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    5,674
    Establishments
    349
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,101
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.9%
    Location quotient
    1.58
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,620
    Establishments
    364
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,862
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.5%
    Location quotient
    1.34
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,383
    Establishments
    198
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,646
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.0%
    Location quotient
    1.55
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    3,757
    Establishments
    238
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,175
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.2%
    Location quotient
    0.61
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    3,057
    Establishments
    43
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,426
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.4%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,950
    Establishments
    143
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,365
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −27.4%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    718
    Establishments
    18
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,174
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.7%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    534
    Establishments
    45
    Avg. annual pay
    $46,184
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.1%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    338
    Establishments
    20
    Avg. annual pay
    $127,662
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.7%
    Location quotient
    0.30
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    221
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,191
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.5%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    76
    Establishments
    6
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,165
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.2%
    Location quotient
    0.09

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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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