Iowa · CFO Salary
CFO Salary in Iowa
What CFOs earn in Iowa — an estimated median and range built on the verified BLS OEWS May 2025 wage for accountants and auditors in the state.
Estimate · verified BLS Iowa wage ($77,440) → CFO role multiplier · updated June 2026
How much does a CFO make in Iowa?
Verified: the BLS OEWS May 2025 Iowa wage for Accountants & Auditors (SOC 13-2011). The CFO figure is a modeled Estimate layered on it — BLS publishes no role-specific wage.
CFO · estimated median
$302,000
Modeled median for a CFO in Iowa, scaled from the verified BLS state wage.
Model your payIowa · verified BLS median
$77,440
The measured OEWS May 2025 median for accountants & auditors in Iowa — the base every estimate here is built on.
All Iowa payState rank (verified)
#37 of 51
Where Iowa ranks on the BLS-measured median for accountants & auditors.
Compare statesVerified baseline
The BLS measurement behind this page
BLS OEWS May 2025 reports wages for the broad occupation "Accountants and Auditors" (SOC 13-2011) in Iowa — not for CFOs, and not for CPAs. These percentiles are direct measurements.
| Percentile | Annual | Hourly | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $51,420 | $24.72/hr | Entry-level / lower pay |
| 25th percentile | $62,090 | $29.85/hr | Below median |
| Median (50th) | $77,440 | $37.23/hr | Typical pay |
| 75th percentile | $98,150 | $47.19/hr | Experienced / senior |
| 90th percentile | $123,700 | $59.47/hr | Top earners |
The Iowa figures above, straight from the OEWS May 2025 release: a $77,440 median across 13,210 accountants and auditors employed in Iowa.
Every CFO figure on this page — $302,000 median included. It is the verified state median scaled by this role’s multiplier (3.9×), because BLS publishes no CFO-specific wage.
Comparison
CFO pay in Iowa vs. national
Iowa's measured accountant median runs -7.5% versus the U.S. figure. The role rows are estimates built on those two verified benchmarks.
CFO — Iowa
estimated median
$302,000
+290.0%CFO — national
estimated median
$326,400
+321.5%All accountants — Iowa
BLS OEWS May 2025 · verified
$77,440
baseAll accountants — national
BLS OEWS May 2025 · verified
$83,680
+8.1%
The CFO estimate sits +290.0% above the verified Iowa accountant median and -7.5% versus the national CFO estimate. Verified rows are BLS measurements; role rows are modeled.
Iowa market
What shapes CFO pay in Iowa
Iowa is an insurance and financial-services hub — Des Moines hosts Principal Financial and a dense cluster of insurers — alongside agriculture and manufacturing. A low cost of living gives Iowa some of the strongest buying-power-adjusted accountant pay in the country.
The CFO owns capital, strategy, and reporting — fundraising or capital allocation, forecasting, investor and board relations, and ultimate responsibility for the financial statements. Accounting operations usually sit under a controller reporting to the CFO.
CFO is a title rather than a level, and company size drives the range harder than location does: a small-business CFO and a large-cap CFO share little but the name. These are base-pay estimates — at larger and venture-backed companies, bonus and equity frequently exceed base salary and are not captured by a wage benchmark.
Role ladder
CFO vs. other roles in Iowa
Each level's multiplier applied to Iowa's verified BLS median. Estimates — the comparison is consistent because every row shares one measured base.
Estimated pay by role · Iowa
On Iowa's verified pay base, estimated pay spans $110,000 (Accounting Manager) to $302,000 (Chief Financial Officer). CFO sits at $302,000.
| Role / level | Low | Est. median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Financial Officer | $302,000 | ||
| Director of Finance | $189,700 | ||
| Controller | $151,000 | ||
| Accounting Manager | $110,000 |
Role multipliers applied to the BLS national median for Accountants & Auditors. The low–high band is a modeled typical range, not a guaranteed offer.
By experience
CFO pay by experience in Iowa
Iowa's verified pay base scaled across experience bands at the CFO level. Estimate.
| Experience | Est. median | CPA-licensed (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 years | $259,700 | $290,900 |
| 2–4 years | $289,900 | $324,700 |
| 5–7 years | $326,200 | $365,300 |
| 8–12 years | $362,400 | $405,900 |
| 13–20 years | $398,700 | $446,500 |
| 20+ years | $428,900 | $480,400 |
Experience multipliers on the area median; CPA column adds a modeled +12% credential premium.
By employer
CFO pay by employer type in Iowa
Big 4, national, regional, and local firms vs. industry — at this role's level on the verified state pay base. Estimate.
| Employer type | Est. manager-level pay | vs. industry |
|---|---|---|
| Big 4 firm | $338,300 | +7.7% |
| National firm | $317,100 | +1.0% |
| Regional firm | $296,000 | -5.8% |
| Local firm | $277,900 | -11.5% |
| Industry / corporate | $314,100 | — |
Employer-type multipliers applied at a manager-level base on the BLS national median.
By metro
CFO pay across Iowa metros
BLS measures 8 metro areas for accountants and auditors in Iowa. The measured median is verified; the CFO column applies this role's multiplier to it.
| Metro area | Accountants medianBLS verified | CFO medianEstimate |
|---|---|---|
| Ames | $79,320 | $309,300 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines | $79,290 | $309,200 |
| Sioux City | $78,650 | $306,700 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | $77,600 | $302,600 |
| Cedar Rapids | $77,180 | $301,000 |
| Iowa City | $75,100 | $292,900 |
| Dubuque | $74,140 | $289,100 |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls | $73,530 | $286,800 |
Metro medians are direct BLS OEWS May 2025 measurements. The CFO column is modeled from them.
Peer markets
States that pay like Iowa
Ranked immediately around Iowa (#37 of 51) on the verified BLS accountant median — the closest comparables for a CFO weighing a move.
Compare states
CFO pay in other states
Where CFOs are estimated to earn the most, built on each state's verified BLS median — Iowa ranks #37 of 51.
CFO salary in Iowa — FAQ
- How much does a CFO make in Iowa?
- A CFO in Iowa earns an estimated $302,000 per year, typically ranging from $242,100 to $382,800+. That is -7.5% versus the national CFO estimate of $326,400. The figure is a modeled estimate: BLS publishes no CFO-specific wage, so we scale the BLS OEWS May 2025 verified Iowa median for accountants and auditors ($77,440) by this role's multiplier.
- What do BLS figures actually say about Iowa?
- BLS measures the broad occupation "Accountants and Auditors" (SOC 13-2011), not CPAs or CFOs specifically. For Iowa, the verified OEWS May 2025 median is $77,440, with a 25th–75th percentile band of $62,090–$98,150 and 13,210 accountants and auditors employed in Iowa. Everything role-specific on this page is layered on top of that measurement and labeled Estimate.
- Is Iowa a good state to work as a CFO?
- Iowa ranks #37 of 51 on the verified BLS median for accountants and auditors, running -7.5% versus the national median. CFOs are estimated to track that same gap. Weigh it against cost of living, the local mix of firms and industry employers, and remote roles that may pay to a national band.
- Does a CFO in Iowa earn more than the average accountant?
- Yes — the CFO estimate of $302,000 runs +290.0% versus the verified Iowa median for all accountants and auditors ($77,440). That gap is the modeled role premium, not a measured one: BLS reports one wage for the whole occupation, and senior and specialized roles sit above that broad-occupation midpoint.
- Which Iowa metro pays CFOs the most?
- On the verified BLS metro medians for accountants and auditors, Ames leads Iowa at $79,320 — about +7.9% versus Waterloo-Cedar Falls ($73,530). CFO pay is estimated to follow the same metro ordering, since the role multiplier applies on top of each metro's measured base.
How to read these numbers
National, state, and metro pay comes straight from the federal wage measurement for accountants & auditors — direct and source-backed, not scaled from anything.
Role, experience, CPA-license, and employer figures are modeled on top of that measurement and labeled Estimate — the federal data does not break those out, so we never present them as measurements.
Add your Iowa CFO salary
Verified local submissions are how the modeled role premium becomes measured data. Anonymous, two minutes.