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Architects, Except Landscape and Naval · SOC 17-1011

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval Salary in the Ames Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Ames, IA metro area

Figures describe the Ames, IA metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Ames city limits.

Median annual wage$95,750
Median hourly wage$46.04

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in the Ames, IA metro area earned a median of $95,750 per year ($46.04 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $58,530 at the 10th percentile to $150,470 at the 90th. BLS estimates 30 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in the Ames metro area earn more than $95,750 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $83,140 and $123,140.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$58,530$83,140$95,750$123,140$150,470
Hourly$28.14$39.97$46.04$59.20$72.34

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Ames metro areathis metro area
    $95,750
  • Iowastate (IA)
    $96,810
  • United Statesnational
    $99,280

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is −1% vs Iowa overall and −4% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$60,120$83,293$106,467$129,640San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $60,120Saginaw, MI — $70,820Lafayette, LA — $73,160Monroe, LA — $73,320Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA — $73,710Bangor, ME — $74,130Tallahassee, FL — $74,960Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $75,600Canton-Massillon, OH — $76,500Albuquerque, NM — $76,520Traverse City, MI — $76,840Medford, OR — $77,200Springfield, MO — $77,360Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $77,620Baton Rouge, LA — $77,810Manhattan, KS — $77,940McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX — $78,250Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $78,660Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $78,740Portland-South Portland, ME — $78,830Grand Junction, CO — $78,850Wichita, KS — $79,180Topeka, KS — $79,400Peoria, IL — $79,580Akron, OH — $79,640Fort Wayne, IN — $79,750El Paso, TX — $79,850Fort Smith, AR-OK — $79,960Bend, OR — $79,990Montgomery, AL — $80,060Laredo, TX — $80,210Winston-Salem, NC — $80,260Flint, MI — $80,270Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $80,870Jackson, MS — $81,000Rockford, IL — $81,010Champaign-Urbana, IL — $81,110Lincoln, NE — $81,190Erie, PA — $81,270Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA — $81,420Shreveport-Bossier City, LA — $81,450Youngstown-Warren, OH — $81,470Jackson, TN — $81,510Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $81,660Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $81,790Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $81,940Salem, OR — $82,030College Station-Bryan, TX — $82,180Bloomington, IL — $82,250South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI — $82,300Columbia, MO — $82,430St. George, UT — $82,460Roanoke, VA — $82,530Corpus Christi, TX — $82,540Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $82,890Eugene-Springfield, OR — $82,900Evansville, IN — $83,000Pittsburgh, PA — $83,460Naples-Marco Island, FL — $83,470Cleveland, OH — $83,620Helena, MT — $83,670Santa Fe, NM — $83,870Idaho Falls, ID — $84,110San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $84,130Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $84,370Charlottesville, VA — $84,650Ogden, UT — $84,970Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL — $84,990Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA — $85,770Bloomington, IN — $86,900Ann Arbor, MI — $87,490Lubbock, TX — $87,700Dubuque, IA — $87,890Tyler, TX — $87,970Amarillo, TX — $88,810Chattanooga, TN-GA — $89,820Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL — $90,010Coeur d'Alene, ID — $90,850Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL — $91,100Lancaster, PA — $91,340Raleigh-Cary, NC — $91,570Lawrence, KS — $91,860Bellingham, WA — $92,320Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX — $92,360Duluth, MN-WI — $92,370Ocala, FL — $92,400Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA — $93,620Lexington-Fayette, KY — $93,640Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA — $93,720Wilmington, NC — $93,720State College, PA — $93,820Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $93,840Clarksville, TN-KY — $93,900Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $93,970Gainesville, FL — $94,050Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL — $94,110Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $94,150La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN — $94,160Syracuse, NY — $94,170Cedar Rapids, IA — $94,230Boise City, ID — $94,270Knoxville, TN — $94,310Burlington-South Burlington, VT — $94,440Kalamazoo-Portage, MI — $94,490Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $94,610Port St. Lucie, FL — $94,630Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $94,990Fargo, ND-MN — $95,100Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $95,130Columbus, GA-AL — $95,140Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA — $95,350Rochester, NY — $95,480Toledo, OH — $95,480Missoula, MT — $95,700Ames, IA — $95,750Richmond, VA — $95,860Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $95,910Greensboro-High Point, NC — $96,040North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $96,040Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $96,190Bismarck, ND — $96,210York-Hanover, PA — $96,250Huntsville, AL — $96,500Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $96,600Kahului-Wailuku, HI — $96,690Birmingham, AL — $96,730Ithaca, NY — $96,920Billings, MT — $96,990Colorado Springs, CO — $97,080Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL — $97,110Reading, PA — $97,330Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $97,460Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $97,500Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $97,590Springfield, IL — $97,600Rochester, MN — $97,610Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $97,920New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $97,950Athens-Clarke County, GA — $98,020Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $98,140Iowa City, IA — $98,220Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $98,350Green Bay, WI — $98,470Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $98,620Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $98,620Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $98,750St. Louis, MO-IL — $98,800Tucson, AZ — $98,860Visalia, CA — $98,890Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $99,030Brunswick-St. Simons, GA — $99,050Columbus, OH — $99,140Madison, WI — $99,210Jacksonville, FL — $99,230Bozeman, MT — $99,280Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $99,320Omaha, NE-IA — $99,350Savannah, GA — $99,560Salinas, CA — $99,600Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $99,680New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $99,710Tulsa, OK — $99,740Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $99,790San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA — $99,800Kansas City, MO-KS — $99,920Midland, TX — $99,990Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $100,050Columbia, SC — $100,200Fresno, CA — $100,360Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL — $100,420Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $100,460Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $100,490Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $100,610Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $100,760Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $100,810Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $100,960Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $101,410Stockton-Lodi, CA — $101,540Gulfport-Biloxi, MS — $101,650Springfield, MA — $101,860Oklahoma City, OK — $101,880Urban Honolulu, HI — $101,930Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $102,080Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $102,080Grand Forks, ND-MN — $102,120Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC — $102,160Watertown-Fort Drum, NY — $102,490Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $102,530Waco, TX — $102,540Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $102,550Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $102,550Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $102,880New Haven, CT — $102,880Kennewick-Richland, WA — $102,890Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $103,050Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $103,090Asheville, NC — $103,100Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $103,330Mobile, AL — $103,380Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA — $103,820Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $103,900Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $104,090Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $104,170Boulder, CO — $104,550Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $104,650Worcester, MA — $104,970Reno, NV — $104,990Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $105,140Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $105,300Manchester-Nashua, NH — $105,540Binghamton, NY — $105,600Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA — $105,750Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $106,090Salisbury, MD — $106,230Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $107,300Anchorage, AK — $108,720Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $109,140Appleton, WI — $110,990Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $111,070Glens Falls, NY — $111,200Amherst Town-Northampton, MA — $114,880Rapid City, SD — $115,600Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $115,960Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $119,120San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $120,040Redding, CA — $120,060Barnstable Town, MA — $120,460Modesto, CA — $124,810Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $125,980San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $126,550San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $129,640

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Ames metro area has the 117th-highest published median for this occupation among the 231 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in Iowa

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for architects, except landscape and naval, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • Ames metro areathis page
    $95,750
  • Davenport metro area
    $99,030
  • Iowa City metro area
    $98,220
  • Des Moines metro area
    $97,460
  • Cedar Rapids metro area
    $94,230
  • Waterloo metro area
    $93,620
  • Dubuque metro area
    $87,890

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Civil Engineers$100,200Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians$79,210Industrial Engineers$88,650Mechanical Engineers$98,610Engineers, All Other$95,260Architectural and Civil Drafters$63,620

Highest-paying metro areas for architects, except landscape and navals · Highest-paying occupations in Ames Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.