What does it cost to hire a judge in Des Moines?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $147,510 median wage in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $29,502 to $44,253 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a judge in Des Moines look like?

Employers in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area pay judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates a median of $147,510, with the middle half of the market between $45,470 and $165,950 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $45,470 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Is the talent for this role already in Des Moines?

This is a job zone 5 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 29% of Des Moines adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Hiring a judge in Des Moines, IA

Employers in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area pay judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates a median of $147,510 a year, with the middle half of the market between $45,470 and $165,950 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 23-1023). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Des Moines residents in legal work earn more than employers in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area pay?

Des Moines residents working in legal occupations earn a median of $103,194 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $95,310 as the median of the 6 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 8%, with the residents figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole legal group, not this one role. In the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area the group covers 6 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from legal support workers, all other at $44,470 to judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates at $147,510 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 6 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Des Moines and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does a judge earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates by employers in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 23-1023.
25th percentile	$45,470
Median	$147,510
75th percentile	$165,950

Half of judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates in this area earn between $45,470 and $165,950 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $45,470 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 23-1023 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Des Moines residents earn

$103,194

Median annual earnings of Des Moines residents working in legal occupations, 1,496 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Sentence defendants in criminal cases, on conviction by jury, according to applicable government statutes.
Monitor proceedings to ensure that all applicable rules and procedures are followed.
Instruct juries on applicable laws, direct juries to deduce the facts from the evidence presented, and hear their verdicts.
Write decisions on cases.
Read documents on pleadings and motions to ascertain facts and issues.

Task statements for SOC 23-1023, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Courtroom scheduling software, Email software.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 23-1023 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Des Moines?

This is a job zone five: extensive preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). O*NET OnLine, SOC 23-1023.

That matters here, because 29% of Des Moines adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Des Moines aged 25 and over.

The average Des Moines commute runs 19.6 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 11.4% of Des Moines workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Des Moines.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Polk County, legal services employs 2,394 and turns over 5.8% a quarter, with 143 hires against 132 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,639 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5411.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a low-churn market, where people do not move often and passive candidates are the whole game.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $147,510 median in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $29,502 to $44,253 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a judge in Des Moines

What does it cost to hire a judge in Des Moines?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $147,510 median wage in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $29,502 to $44,253 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a judge in Des Moines look like?: Employers in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area pay judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates a median of $147,510, with the middle half of the market between $45,470 and $165,950 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $45,470 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Des Moines residents in legal work earn more than employers in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area pay?: Des Moines residents working in legal occupations earn a median of $103,194 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $95,310 as the median of the 6 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 8%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Des Moines?: This is a job zone 5 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 29% of Des Moines adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a judge somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other legal roles in Des Moines

Des Moines is the largest of 1 Iowa cities in this dataset.