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Manufacturing Compass

Iowa manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Iowa manufacturing in 2025

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

Establishments

4,235

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
399,936
Share of U.S.Calc
1.1%

Employment

216,451

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,579,906
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

$1,476

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,721
vs. U.S.Calc
−14.2%

Average annual pay

$76,771

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$89,471
vs. U.S.Calc
−14.2%

Location quotient

1.72

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Iowa is 1.72 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. 2 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    60,161
    Establishments
    652
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,942
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +11.9%
    Location quotient
    3.39
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    37,699
    Establishments
    462
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,631
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.9%
    Location quotient
    3.46
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    20,099
    Establishments
    637
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,303
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.3%
    Location quotient
    1.41
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    12,539
    Establishments
    174
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,243
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −31.1%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,519
    Establishments
    122
    Avg. annual pay
    $116,469
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −29.0%
    Location quotient
    1.25
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    12,444
    Establishments
    292
    Avg. annual pay
    $92,527
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.0%
    Location quotient
    1.39
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    11,442
    Establishments
    193
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,307
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.1%
    Location quotient
    1.63
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,330
    Establishments
    160
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,504
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +19.0%
    Location quotient
    2.32
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    6,727
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,141
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.5%
    Location quotient
    1.85
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    5,803
    Establishments
    71
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,818
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.3%
    Location quotient
    1.34
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,722
    Establishments
    370
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,134
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.3%
    Location quotient
    1.38
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    5,453
    Establishments
    334
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,648
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.4%
    Location quotient
    1.58
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,167
    Establishments
    189
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,999
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.5%
    Location quotient
    1.55
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    3,667
    Establishments
    240
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,783
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.8%
    Location quotient
    0.60
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    3,025
    Establishments
    42
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,118
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.7%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,891
    Establishments
    141
    Avg. annual pay
    $46,028
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.2%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    655
    Establishments
    20
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,017
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.9%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    465
    Establishments
    42
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,350
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.7%
    Location quotient
    0.50
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    351
    Establishments
    20
    Avg. annual pay
    $124,088
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.6%
    Location quotient
    0.32
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed

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/2025/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2025 (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