Mechatronics technician salary in Iowa (2026)

How much does a mechatronics technician make in Iowa?

The spread in Iowa is wide, and that tells you experience gets paid here. The bottom 10% of technicians earn $42,640 while the top 10% pull $94,470, a gap of more than $50,000. That is the difference between someone running preventive maintenance on a line and a senior controls tech who can program a PLC, troubleshoot a robot cell, and keep a plant from going dark on a Sunday night.

The middle 50% sits between $57,040 and $80,680, which is where most working technicians land. Iowa's mean of $71,120 falls a little below its median of $73,010, a sign that a cluster of lower-paying roles pulls the average down while the median holds steady near the US figure. The location quotient of 1.19 backs up the demand story: with only about 180 of these jobs statewide, they are still denser here, per worker, than in most states.

Iowa mechatronics salary: BLS vs Salary.com vs Indeed

You will see three very different numbers for this job in Iowa, and it pays to know why. BLS reports a $73,010 median because it surveys employers directly about what they actually pay filled positions. Salary.com lists a much lower $56,186 average because it models HR compensation data and blends in adjacent, lower-paid maintenance titles. Indeed shows $28.23 an hour (about $58,718 a year) built from job postings and self-reported wages, and its Iowa figure rests on a sample of 39 salaries, which is thin enough to swing on a handful of low-paying listings.

When these disagree, trust the employer survey. BLS has the largest, most representative sample and separates this occupation cleanly from general maintenance work. Use $73,010 as your anchor when you negotiate, and treat the Salary.com and Indeed figures as floors that reflect entry-level and mislabeled roles rather than what an experienced mechatronics technician commands in Iowa.

Job outlook for mechatronics technicians in Iowa

Iowa's outlook beats the national one by a wide margin. The state projects 3.2% growth for this occupation from 2024 to 2034, compared with just 0.7% nationally. That is not a huge number of bodies (the base is small), but the direction is clearly better than the flat national trend, and it reflects how much of Iowa's economy runs on automated ag equipment and food processing lines.

The state expects about 10 openings a year. On a base of roughly 160 to 180 jobs, most of those come from turnover and retirements rather than brand-new positions, which is normal for a mature, machinery-heavy workforce. It also means the door opens when someone leaves, so timing and a solid resume matter. You can track the latest state projections through Iowa Workforce Development.

How Iowa compares with nearby states

Inside the Midwest, Iowa lands in the middle of the pack. It nearly ties Ohio ($73,050) and edges out neighboring Nebraska ($72,800), but it trails the regional pacesetters: North Dakota pays a $82,820 median and Wisconsin sits at $76,290, both drawing on heavier industrial and energy work. So Iowa's pay is competitive for the region, just not top-tier, and a technician willing to look across state lines has clear upside.

Who hires mechatronics technicians in Iowa

Iowa's demand is anchored by heavy equipment manufacturing. John Deere runs large plants across the state (Waterloo, Dubuque, Davenport, Ankeny, and Ottumwa) that need maintenance and automation technicians to keep robotic weld cells, CNC lines, and assembly conveyors running. Vermeer, headquartered in Pella, builds agricultural and construction machinery and hires technicians for the same kind of work.

Beyond the big two, Iowa's food and grain processing plants lean hard on electromechanical and controls technicians to maintain packaging lines, motor drives, and PLC-run process systems. If you want steady demand in the state, the ag-equipment and food-processing corridors are where the mechatronics jobs concentrate.

How to earn more as a mechatronics technician in Iowa

Stack controls and PLC certifications

The gap between Iowa's median ($73,010) and its top decile ($94,470) is mostly a skills gap. Technicians who can program and troubleshoot PLCs, drives, and robot cells sit at the top of that range. Build a stack that proves it. Our certifications guide walks through which credentials employers in ag equipment and processing actually ask for.

Cross into a higher-paying neighbor state

Iowa pays fairly, but the region has better. Illinois posts a $79,400 median and North Dakota reaches $82,820, both meaningfully above Iowa's $73,010. If you are near a border or open to relocating, the same skill set can be worth several thousand dollars more a year. Weigh the raise against cost of living before you move.

Step up to the engineer track

The clearest ceiling-raiser is moving from technician to the controls or automation engineering side. It usually means more schooling, but the pay jump is real and the demand in Iowa's manufacturing base is steady. See our controls engineer path and the full mechatronics salary guide to map the move.

Sources & methodology

Figures on this page come from four independent datasets, retrieved 2026-07-14. Where they disagree, the disagreement is shown rather than averaged away; the source-comparison section explains why each number differs.

• BLS OEWS, SOC 17-3024, May 2025 national and state estimates (state file oesm25st.zip). Employer-reported, the authoritative baseline.
• Salary.com, Mechatronics Technician in Iowa, as of July 01, 2026. HR-reported and modelled averages.
• Indeed, mechatronics technician salaries in Iowa, based on 39 reported salaries. Posting-derived.
• Projections Central, 2024–2034 state occupational projections produced by Iowa's labor market agency (state source).
• Vermeer manufacturing jobs in Iowa (ZipRecruiter)
• John Deere jobs in Iowa (Indeed)