Animal Caretakers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,818
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$4,262
14.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,085
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
$30,080
Kept after tax
$25,818
Worth in national money
$29,085
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for animal caretakers. The middle earner takes $30,080, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 14.93% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Iowa, this one sits low: 477 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $30,080 the take-home is $25,818; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $29,085 would nationally. The average comes to $32,900, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa ranks 42 of 51 for animal caretakers, with a median of $30,080 — about 14.93% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Animal caretakers occupies position 477 of 493 in Iowa's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for animal caretakers in Iowa, on $30,080, is $25,818 — equivalent to $29,085 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 $32,900 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,610 |
| This salary | $30,080 |
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 | $25,818 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,349 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,970 |
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 | $29,419 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,382 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $30,080 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $22,450 and the ninetieth is $45,610 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $25,818, worked from $30,080. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 477 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $29,085 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 477.
- The Iowa median of $30,080 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $22,450 to $45,610. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Iowa take-home of $25,818, on $30,080 for work ranking 477 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 477 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $29,085, worked from $30,080, 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 477 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 $32,900, 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 $22,450, the highest tenth $45,610, 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 $29,085 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 $25,818.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $32,900. 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 ($22,450) and the ninetieth ($45,610) 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 $29,085 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 $25,818 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.