Insulation Installers in the Des Moines area earn a median of $70,410 a year, 46% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #6 of 106 metros for insulation installer salaries across the U.S..
Within driving distance, the same work pays less in Sioux City.
It's one of 2 Iowa metros with published pay for this trade; see statewide insulation installer pay.
Insulation Installer pay in Des Moines at a glance
- Insulation installers in the Des Moines, IA metro earn a median $70,410 a year ($33.85 an hour), #6 of 106 U.S. metros (BLS, May 2025).
- The middle 80% earn between $45,180 and $76,920.
- After local prices, that median buys what $76,782 would in a typical U.S. place (BEA, 2024).
- A typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,126 a month, 19% of the median pay (HUD, FY2027).
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Enter a rate to see where it falls among insulation installers in Des Moines.
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What this means Our calculation
Pay for insulation installers here is in the top 20% of U.S. metros, and also in the top 20% once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is lower than in most metros (3.5%) and the population is growing faster than most (+6.7% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 51 one-person building equipment installation businesses averaging $49,294 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $84/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
Des Moines scorecard for insulation installers Our calculation
Grades compare Des Moines with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($48,305).
Pay over time
The median pay for insulation installers in the Des Moines area went from $47,550 in 2022 to $70,410 in 2025, up 48.1%. Prices rose 10% over the same period, so after inflation that's +34.6% — a real raise.
BLS OEWS, May 2022–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Des Moines Our calculation
Prices in Des Moines run 8% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $76,782 would in a typical place, ranking #2 of 105 on real pay.
Real pay or rent burden?
Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
Want the full picture? Build a Des Moines budget on this pay from this pay, local rent and prices.
What insulation installers do
Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Measure and cut insulation for covering surfaces, using tape measures, handsaws, power saws, knives, or scissors.
- Fit, wrap, staple, or glue insulating materials to structures or surfaces, using hand tools or wires.
- Cover and line structures with blown or rolled forms of materials to insulate against cold, heat, or moisture, using saws, knives, rasps, trowels, blowers, or other tools and implements.
- Distribute insulating materials evenly into small spaces within floors, ceilings, or walls, using blowers and hose attachments, or cement mortars.
- Move controls, buttons, or levers to start blowers and regulate flow of materials through nozzles.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, insulation installer jobs are projected to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 3,000 openings a year. About 2% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often insulation installers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Licensing in Iowa Official source
The main state licensing office in Iowa is the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. It can point you to the right license for insulation installers.
Official Iowa licensing site ↗
Requirements for insulation installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, insulation installers have 312 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 3.6× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is falls, slips and trips.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying IA metros for insulation installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des MoinesIOWA · IA | $70,410 | $76,782 | 200 |
| Sioux CityIOWA · IA | $49,000 | $56,678 | 90 |
See every metro in Iowa.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Des Moines area's unemployment rate was 3.5% in 2025 (all workers, not just insulation installers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 3.8% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Des Moines area is 21 minutes each way, shorter than the typical metro (24 min). 7% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 75% drive alone, 0% take transit and 14% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Des Moines area's population grew 6.7% from 2020 to 2025 (711,197 → 758,539), ranking #70 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +33,041) account for most of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Des Moines
The Des Moines area has about 325,348 homes. 44% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is about as old as most; 23% were built in 2010 or later. 68% of households own their home, and the median home value is $288,400.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Des Moines are down 10% from 2021 to 2025 (6,969 → 6,249).
In 2025 the Des Moines area approved permits for 6,249 new homes (3,426 single-family), or 8.5 per 1,000 residents, ranking #46 of 393 metros, among the busiest building markets in the country.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 51 one-person businesses (no employees) in building equipment installation, averaging $49,294 a year in revenue before expenses. See how Des Moines compares among the best cities to start an insulation installer business.
They compete with 23 building equipment installation companies that have employees (about 576 workers in total). 26% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Working outdoors in Des Moines Government data
In an average year, Des Moines has 22 days at 90°F or hotter (fewer than most metros; typical metro 33), 128 nights below freezing (typical 90) and 66 days with a tenth of an inch of rain or more, and 36 inches of snow. Summer afternoons average 84°F and winter nights 17°F. That matters for insulation installers: heat and freezes shape the working season and the hours.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages, Des Moines International Airport, IA station. Compare cities on outdoor work weather.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the break-even rate to match a $70,410 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for (including the employer half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65%), then adds your profit margin. Change any number.
Break-even rate
With your profit margin
How this calculator works. Weighing a contractor job against a W-2 one? Try the 1099 vs. W-2 comparison. Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get insulation installer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Des Moines with another city →
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ToolDes Moines budgetMonthly take-home, HUD rent and local prices on this pay.About this data
Local to the Des Moines metro: pay (BLS, May 2025) and pay over time (2020–2025, CPI-adjusted), prices (BEA, 2024), rent (HUD, FY2027), new construction, housing, population and commuting (Census), unemployment (BLS) and business counts (Census, by industry). National: job outlook and training (BLS projections), injury rates (BLS) and duties (O*NET). Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions; grades rank Des Moines against every other metro for insulation installers. Every source, year and formula is on our data page.