Accountants and Auditors in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,978
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$16,462
21.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,695
Iowa costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Iowa — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$77,440
Kept after tax
$60,978
Worth in national money
$68,695
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for accountants and auditors is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $77,440. That is 37 of 51 states, and about 7.46% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Iowa. It ranks 122 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,440 you keep $60,978 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $68,695 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $83,640, since top earners drag the number up.
- For accountants and auditors, Iowa sits in the lower band at $77,440, ranking 37 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 7.46%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Iowa, accountants and auditors ranks 122 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $60,978 after the full tax stack, from $77,440. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $68,695 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $83,640 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Accountants and Auditors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,440 |
| Top tenth earn over | $123,700 |
| This salary | $77,440 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Iowa | $60,978 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,309 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,545 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $74,127 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,897 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Iowa earn less than $77,440. The published range is $51,420 up to $123,700, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $60,978, from $77,440, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 122 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $68,695, the adjusted value of that $77,440 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 122 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for accountants and auditors in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,420 to $123,700. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $60,978 from $77,440. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 122 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $68,695 — the adjusted value of that $77,440 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 122 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $83,640, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $51,420, the highest tenth $123,700, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Iowa is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $68,695 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Iowa then takes its own share, leaving $60,978.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Iowa is $83,640. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($51,420) and the ninetieth ($123,700) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Iowa's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $68,695 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $60,978 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Iowa income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.