Advertising Sales Agents in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,558
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$10,922
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,576
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
$58,480
Kept after tax
$47,558
Worth in national money
$53,576
State rank
24
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 24 of 48 states for advertising sales agents, with a middle wage of $58,480. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 236.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $58,480 the take-home is $47,558; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $53,576 would nationally. The average comes to $62,460, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa ranks 24 of 48 for advertising sales agents at $58,480. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, advertising sales agents sits at 236 of 493 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for advertising sales agents in Iowa, on $58,480, is $47,558 — equivalent to $53,576 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $62,460 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Advertising Sales Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $92,120 |
| This salary | $58,480 |
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 | $47,558 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,169 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,978 |
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 | $56,476 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,602 |
| 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 $58,480. The published range is $30,250 up to $92,120, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $47,558 take-home in Iowa comes from $58,480. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 236 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,576 uses one figure for the whole of Iowa. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 236.
- Reported values are medians; for advertising sales agents in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,250 to $92,120. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $47,558, from $58,480, assumes a single Iowa filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 236 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 24 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,576, worked from $58,480, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Iowa address, on work sitting at 236 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $62,460 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,250 at the bottom tenth to $92,120 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Iowa sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $53,576 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $47,558.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $62,460. 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 ($30,250) and the ninetieth ($92,120) 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 $53,576 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 $47,558 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.