Iowa

Refinery & Process Operator pay in Iowa

What refinery and process operators earn in Iowa: pay for the state, plus job counts and no listed training programs yet.

$87,020Average across all experience levels (state)
$61,400Entry-level / bottom 10%
$90,160Median pay (state)
$99,760Top 10% earn over

70 jobs in Iowa.

Pay by percentile

Refinery & Process Operator pay in Iowa

Annual wages.

Annual wages by percentile.
Area	10th pct	25th pct	Median	75th pct	90th pct	Mean	Employed
Iowa	$61,400	$70,890	$90,160	$98,340	$99,760	$87,020	70
United States	$57,110	$77,510	$96,710	$106,320	$115,880	$90,630	33,160

At a glance

How Iowa compares

Computed from the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates state and metro files. A location quotient above 1 means the job makes up a larger share of employment in the state than nationally.
Rank by average pay	18 of 43 states and territories with a BLS estimate
Average vs U.S. average	-4.0% ($87,020 vs $90,630)
Median vs U.S. median	-6.8% ($90,160 vs $96,710)
Median hourly wage	$43.34
Bottom 10% to top 10%	$61,400 to $99,760
Jobs per 1,000 jobs in the state	0.05
Location quotient	0.22 (less concentrated than the U.S. average of 1.00)

Training

Schools and apprenticeships in Iowa

We found no process operator school program or registered apprenticeship sponsor in Iowa in the IPEDS 2023-24 completions file or the DOL partner file. Programs in nearby states may enroll out-of-state students. This site covers pay and careers; the school and apprenticeship directory lives on our sister site.

See process operator schools and apprenticeship sponsors in IowaFull directory, entry requirements and how to apply · RegisteredTradeSchools.com

Veterans can compare trade schools approved for the GI Bill on VeteranTradeSchools.com.

Get training programs and tuition near you

Free. Tell us where you are and we'll point you to listed programs in Iowa, with tuition where it is published.

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By the HighPayingTrades Data Team · Updated Nov 4, 2026

Sources

Figures as of BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (released 2026-05-15) and BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 (released 2026-08-27).

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released 2026-05-15 (news release USDL-26-0725; data tables). Cross-checked against the BLS Public Data API on 2026-11-04.
Occupation: O*NET OnLine, 51-8093.00 Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers, retrieved 2026-11-04 (CC BY 4.0).
Apprenticeship sponsors: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship: partner sponsors file, retrieved 2026-10-29 (Partner Finder).
Schools & graduates: U.S. Department of Education, NCES IPEDS Completions 2023-24 (C2024_A) and Institutional Characteristics (HD2024), award year 2023-24, matched by 6-digit CIP code (completions file; CIP-SOC crosswalk).
Tuition: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (Most Recent Cohorts: Institution + Field of Study), data updated 2026-10-15, matched by IPEDS unit ID (source).

Program listings are matched from public files by occupation code or organization name; they are not endorsements and we have not visited or tested any program. Confirm schedules, entry requirements and costs with the program. Compiled by the HighPayingTrades Data Team; last refreshed 2026-11-04.