Short answer
The Des Moines metro area had 148 staffing agency establishments in 2023, employing 5,071 people (Census County Business Patterns): 117 temporary help locations and 31 placement or executive search offices, 114 of them in Polk County. Iowa requires a state license for any agency that charges job seekers, caps its fee at 15% of annual gross earnings and bans requiring fees in advance. Employers should check insurance, itemized rates and references.
- 148 staffing establishments in the Des Moines metro employ 5,071 people; temp help locations account for 4,383 of them.
- Polk County has 114 locations and 3,769 employees; Dallas County has 28.
- An Iowa agency that charges job seekers needs a license, a $30,000 bond and a fee schedule on file with the state.
- The fee is capped at 15% of the worker's annual gross earnings, with a refund if the job lasts less than a year.
- In the worked example, a worker who leaves after four months owes at most $2,600 on a $52,000 job, not $7,800.
On this page
This report is for central Iowa job seekers deciding which agencies to work with, employers choosing one, and B2B sellers whose customers are staffing firms in the Des Moines area.
Des Moines staffing agencies in Census data
The figures cover the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area (CBSA 19780) and two industry codes: NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services). Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
| Measure (2023) | Des Moines metro |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 148 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 5,071 |
| Annual payroll | $305,092,000 (includes a high-noise figure) |
| Average employees per establishment | 34.3 |
| Average annual pay | $60,164 (from payroll that includes a high-noise figure) |
| Share of US establishments | 0.29% of 51,830 |
One caution on pay: the payroll total includes the placement and search industry's payroll, which the Census Bureau published with a high-noise flag (the noise it adds for confidentiality changed it by 5% or more). The temp help figures are low-noise and more reliable: 117 locations, 4,383 employees and $204,238,000 in payroll, an average of $46,598 per employee (our calculation).
| County | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Polk County, Iowa | 114 | 3,769 |
| Dallas County, Iowa | 28 | Not reported (high-noise figure) |
Polk County has 77% of the locations. Dallas County, home to Waukee and part of West Des Moines, has 28, and its employee count is high-noise, so it's left out.
Size, and why the temp count is large
The Census Bureau publishes only two size classes for the metro: 66 locations have 1 to 4 employees and 18 have 5 to 9. The rest are withheld to protect individual firms. The temp help row is more complete: 46 temp locations have 1 to 4 employees, 12 have 5 to 9, 10 have 10 to 19, 21 have 20 to 49, 13 have 50 to 99 and 13 have 100 to 249, which leaves 2 with 250 or more.
Temp help holds 86% of the metro's staffing employees because a temp agency employs the people it places: the Census definition says they "are employees of the temporary help services establishment." A claims processor on assignment at an insurer or a packer at a distribution center counts on the agency's payroll, not the client's. Placement and search firms place people on the client's payroll, so the 15 search offices have only 34 employees between them.
These are establishments with paid employees, not companies (one firm with Urbandale and Ankeny offices counts twice) and leave out self-employed recruiters. The figures leave out professional employer organizations (NAICS 56133) and reflect the week of March 12, 2023. No exchange-listed staffing company in SEC EDGAR is based in the metro.
Iowa's rules on agencies that charge job seekers
Iowa Code chapter 84I defines an employment agency as one that receives a fee from the employee for bringing employer and worker together. Temp agencies and recruiters paid only by employers fall outside it.
| Rule | What the law says |
|---|---|
| License | Required from the director of Iowa Workforce Development before doing business; licenses expire 30 June each year |
| Bond and filing | A $30,000 surety bond, the fee schedule, every contract form the worker signs and a $75 application fee |
| Fee cap | No more than 15% of the employee's annual gross earnings, and nothing above the filed schedule without the director's consent |
| Advance fees | Can't be required; a voluntary advance must be stated as voluntary in the contract |
| Short jobs | If the job lasts less than a year, the agency refunds anything above 15% of the gross earnings from that job |
| Fees to apply or be hired | Nobody may charge you a fee as a condition of applying, and an employer can't make you pay back a fee it paid an agency |
The agency must also give you a copy of the contract stating the fee before referring you, and keep records of each fee charged, paid or refunded for two years. Iowa's minimum wage is the federal $7.25, per the US Department of Labor's state table.
Worked example: what a fee-charging agency can collect
Illustrative example. The worker, job and pay are invented to show the arithmetic under Iowa Code 84I.4.
Jordan signs with a fee-charging agency and is placed in a $52,000-a-year job.
| Situation | Maximum fee | How it's worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Stays a full year | $7,800 | 15% of $52,000 |
| Leaves after four months, having earned $17,333.33 | $2,600 | 15% of the earnings from the job |
| Paid $7,800 up front voluntarily, then left after four months | $5,200 refund due | $7,800 paid less the $2,600 allowed |
If the employer paid the agency's fee instead, the employer can't recover it from Jordan. And if any agency asks for money just to apply, that's prohibited outright.
How employers should choose
- Pick the agency type: office and professional temps, light industrial, IT contract, healthcare, direct hire placement or search. A PEO handles payroll and HR for staff you already employ.
- Check the business with the Iowa Secretary of State and get workers' compensation and general liability certificates.
- Get pay rate, markup, overtime and conversion terms on separate lines.
- Read reviews and call references: ClearlyRated lists Des Moines agencies with client and talent ratings.
- Pilot first with a few roles before you move a whole department.
Job seekers who'd rather skip agencies can use IowaWORKS Des Moines, part of the American Job Center network, for career help, résumé workshops, labor market information and connections to training.
Selling to Des Moines staffing agencies
With 148 locations, this is a market to know by name. The temp branches buy screening, payroll and timekeeping, and recruiting ads; the office and professional firms buy applicant tracking and candidate data; owners decide at the independents and branch or regional managers at the national brands. Build the list from ClearlyRated and the ASA directory, and read job postings to sort insurance and finance contract recruiters from light industrial branches. At volume that's the slow part; Bebop finds agencies that match a description and explains why each fits. For a first email that gets read, see cold email templates.
Subject: Filling [role] orders for [client type] clients Hi [first name], I saw [agency] has [number] openings for [role, e.g. claims or underwriting assistants] in the Des Moines area. When several insurance clients order at once, screening usually becomes the bottleneck. We [what you do] so candidates are cleared in [time]. Would it help to try it on your next three orders? [Your name]
Local sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Iowa Code chapter 84I | Iowa's employment agency law in full |
| IowaWORKS Des Moines | Career help and workforce programs |
| ClearlyRated: Des Moines staffing | Agencies with client and talent ratings |
| ASA member directory | National association members by location and job field |
| Greater Des Moines Partnership | Regional economic development, with data on major employers |
Next step: compare Des Moines with a two-state market in the report on staffing agencies in Omaha.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- County Business Patterns methodology, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2022 NAICS Descriptions: 561320 Temporary Help Services, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Iowa Code chapter 84I, Employment Agencies, Iowa Legislature, Iowa Code 2026, accessed 30 October 2026
- State Minimum Wage Laws, US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, updated 1 July 2026, accessed 30 October 2026
- IowaWORKS Des Moines, Iowa Workforce Development, accessed 30 October 2026
- Best Des Moines Staffing Agencies, ClearlyRated, accessed 30 October 2026
- Greater Des Moines Partnership, Greater Des Moines Partnership, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many staffing agencies are there in Des Moines?
Census County Business Patterns counted 148 staffing agency establishments in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area in 2023, employing 5,071 people. That's 117 temporary help locations, 16 employment placement agencies and 15 executive search offices, with 114 in Polk County and 28 in Dallas County. The count is of locations with paid employees, so a national firm counts once per branch.
Can a staffing agency charge me a fee in Iowa?
Only a licensed employment agency, and only within limits. Iowa Code chapter 84I requires a state license and a $30,000 bond, caps the fee at 15% of your annual gross earnings, bars agencies from requiring fees in advance and requires a refund of anything above 15% of your actual earnings if the job lasts under a year. No one may charge you a fee just to apply.
Do temp agencies need a license in Iowa?
Not under Iowa's employment agency law. Iowa Code chapter 84I defines an employment agency as one that receives a fee from the employee, so temp agencies and recruiters paid only by employers fall outside its licensing requirement. Those agencies still need to be registered businesses with workers' compensation coverage, so ask for insurance certificates and check the business with the Iowa Secretary of State.
Can my employer make me repay a staffing agency's fee in Iowa?
No. Iowa Code 84I.4 says an employer shall not require an employee to reimburse the employer for a fee it paid to an employment agency or anyone else when the employee was hired. It also bars anyone from requiring a fee as a condition of applying for a job, and bars employers from requiring a fee as a condition of hire.
Where else can I get job search help in Des Moines?
IowaWORKS Des Moines, at 200 Army Post Road, is part of the American Job Center network and offers one-on-one career assistance, virtual workshops and résumé building, labor market information, unemployment assistance and connections to training. Many staffing agencies also cost job seekers nothing, because the employer pays them. Agencies that do charge job seekers must be licensed by the state.