Data · Iowa × Medicine

Women in Medicine in Iowa

How women in medicine fare in Iowa — state-adjusted pay gap, state ranking, and the national context that frames the local picture.

79.4%
Iowa overall earnings ratio (women/men)
Census ACS S2001
#35
of 51 jurisdictions for pay equity
Derived from ACS state ratios
20.6%
Unadjusted pay gap in Iowa
Census ACS
29.3%
Women in Iowa’s legislature

The state-adjusted picture

Women in medicine nationally face the same structural conditions as women in every other field — but the overall wage environment in Iowa modifies the baseline by -5.3% relative to the US average. A state where the overall pay gap is narrower tends to reflect narrower gaps within fields too, though field-specific dynamics dominate for specialized professions.

Iowa elected its first woman US Senator in 2014.

National context

Women have been the majority of US medical school entrants since 2017. The pipeline is now reshaping medicine, but specialty sorting, leadership gaps, and a persistent pay gap remain. This page tracks the current data.

Full national data Women in Medicine: Numbers, Pay, and Trends (2026)

National headline stats (medicine)

38.3%
Women among all US practicing physicians (AAMC 2024)
56.4%
Women in 2024 US medical school entering class
$110K
Median annual pay gap — female vs male physicians (Medscape 2024)
22%
Women among medical school deans (AAMC, 2024)

Other fields in Iowa

Medicine in other states

Related pages

Frequently asked

What is the pay gap for women in medicine in Iowa?

Iowa’s overall pay ratio is 79.4% — a 20.6% gap. The gap within medicine follows the national pattern modified by Iowa’s overall wage environment. See the full national field data for in-field specifics.

How does Iowa rank on pay equity?

Iowa ranks #35 of 51 US jurisdictions on pay equity, per Census ACS state ratios.

How are women represented in Iowa politics?

29.3% of Iowa state legislators are women (CAWP 2024). 2 women from Iowa serve in the 119th US Congress.

Where does the national medicine data come from?

AAMC Physician Workforce Data; Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2024; JAMA Internal Medicine — Tsugawa 2017