Labor Market Pulse · Life Sciences · October 2026
Life Sciences Labor Market Report: Dubuque, IA MSA — October 2026
Dubuque clinical and quality pay outruns the national market.
Dubuque CRA pay hit $121,250 against a $90,065 national median, while Validation Engineer pay reached $121,331 versus $106,478 nationally, even as county unemployment held near 2.4%-3.3%.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Dubuque County unemployment: 2.4%-3.3% — vs 4.1% national rate
- CRA advertised pay, metro vs national: $121,250 — vs $90,065 national median
- National quit rate: 1.9% — signals low voluntary mobility among specialists
- Iowa professional/scientific/technical jobs: Declined — September 2026, amid 3.2% statewide unemployment
Key takeaways
Dubuque CRA pay has pulled ahead of the national market.
Metro Clinical Research Associate advertised pay sits at $121,250 against a $90,065 national median — a reversal of the usual metro discount. Clinical operations headcount plans should treat local compensation data as the live reference point ahead of national survey figures.
Quality and validation talent commands a local premium.
Validation Engineer advertised pay rose to $121,331 locally, above the $106,478 national median, consistent with manufacturing employment hitting record highs regionally. Build-vs-outsource calculus with CDMOs should account for this premium when comparing in-house validation hires against contracted capacity.
Clinical Data Manager pay divergence signals a thinner local market.
Metro median pay of $74,125 trails the $123,653 national figure by a wide margin, a gap unusual for a role in high national demand. This likely reflects limited local advertised volume (job ads signal hiring demand, and a single ad often covers several openings), so it is worth validating against actual fill times before anchoring offers to this figure.
Tight county-level unemployment compounds scientific talent scarcity.
Dubuque unemployment near 2.4%-3.3% sits well under the 4.1% national rate, and state-level professional/scientific/technical services job losses in September suggest fewer displaced specialists are entering the pool. Regulatory and R&D vacancies may take longer to fill than national CRA benchmarks (10-16 weeks for director-level) would suggest.
Median advertised pay by role — Dubuque, IA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Scientist * | $74,306 | $107,497 | $113,084 | Significant increase | $130,339 |
| Clinical Research Associate * | $62,098 | $121,250 | $128,750 | Significant increase | $90,065 |
| Lab Technician * | $38,917 | $44,670 | $47,927 | Moderate decline | $47,840 |
| Regulatory Affairs Specialist * | $88,842 | $103,011 | $109,084 | Significant increase | $103,780 |
| Clinical Data Manager * | $74,125 | $74,125 | $99,228 | Significant decline | $123,653 |
| Biostatistician * | $91,938 | $124,129 | $146,223 | Stable | $131,958 |
| Validation Engineer * | $118,498 | $121,331 | $123,498 | Significant increase | $106,478 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Dubuque County unemployment held near 2.4%-3.3% through mid-2026, well below the 4.1% national rate, with healthcare and manufacturing employment at record highs across the seven-county region — a tight labor pool that extends into credentialed scientific and quality roles. Statewide, professional, scientific, and technical services shed jobs in September even as labor force participation slipped to 66.9%, suggesting Dubuque-area Life Sci employers are competing for a shrinking specialist pool while the overall job base remains stable.
What it means
Metro advertised pay for Clinical Research Associate ($121,250) and Validation Engineer ($121,331) now exceeds or nearly matches national medians, signaling Dubuque-area biotech, pharma, and device employers are paying premiums to hold credentialed clinical and quality talent against a 1.9% national quit rate that keeps experienced professionals in place. That combination — rising local pay with low mobility — makes retention economics more relevant than recruiting economics for most R&D, clinical, and quality headcount plans this quarter. Consider reviewing retention packages for CRA, validation engineering, and regulatory roles against current advertised pay, since local wage movement in these functions has outpaced national trend this year and prior-year survey benchmarks may no longer reflect the market.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Iowa's professional, scientific, and technical services sector lost jobs in September even as healthcare and manufacturing set employment records. Watch whether Q4 QCEW data shows this translating into reduced competition for Dubuque-area lab and regulatory talent, or simply reflects national-level consolidation.
Emerging pressure point: Lab Technician advertised pay fell to $44,670 locally while the national figure held stable at $47,840. Entry-level pipeline roles may be losing ground against hourly and manufacturing wages regionally, a risk for organizations relying on local lab tech recruitment ahead of year-end headcount reviews.
Potential inflection point: National biopharma layoffs fell 90% year-over-year alongside a 63% rise in H1 M&A activity, while the quit rate sits at 1.9%. If this consolidation wave reaches Iowa-based or BioMidwest-adjacent employers, Dubuque could see an unusual influx of experienced regulatory or clinical talent in Q1 2027.
Early indicator: EUDAMED and EU AI Act compliance deadlines are driving premium pay for AI compliance officers and UDI specialists nationally. Device manufacturers with Dubuque-area operations should watch whether this demand reaches regional job postings in November and December.
Sources
- BizTimes — Dubuque County unemployment at 2.4%, below state and national rates
- Iowa Workforce Development — Iowa professional, scientific, technical services lost jobs in September 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National quit rate at 1.9%, indicating low voluntary job mobility
- Industry biopharma labor market research — Biopharma layoffs down 90% year-over-year, M&A activity up 63% in H1 2026
- Iowa Workforce Development — Iowa statewide unemployment held at 3.2% for fifth consecutive month
- National life sciences labor market research notes — EUDAMED and EU AI Act compliance deadlines driving regulatory talent demand
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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