Architectural and Engineering Managers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$106,973
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$40,347
27.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$120,510
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
$147,320
Kept after tax
$106,973
Worth in national money
$120,510
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $147,320. That is 45 of 51 states, and about 13.98% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Iowa reports, this job comes in at 7 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $147,320 you keep $106,973 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $120,510 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $153,060, since top earners drag the number up.
- For architectural and engineering managers, Iowa sits in the lower band at $147,320, ranking 45 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 13.98%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Architectural and engineering managers ranks 7 of 493 occupations by median in Iowa, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $106,973 after the full tax stack, from $147,320. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $120,510 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $153,060 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Architectural and Engineering Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $103,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $147,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $210,220 |
| This salary | $147,320 |
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 | $106,973 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $111,959 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,296 |
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 | $140,025 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,529 |
| 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 $147,320. The published range is $103,470 up to $210,220, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $106,973 take-home in Iowa comes from $147,320. 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 7 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $120,510, the adjusted value of that $147,320 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 7 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for architectural and engineering managers in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $103,470 to $210,220. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $106,973, from $147,320, 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 7 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $120,510 — the adjusted value of that $147,320 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 7 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 $153,060 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 $103,470 at the bottom tenth to $210,220 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 $120,510 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 $106,973.
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 $153,060. 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 ($103,470) and the ninetieth ($210,220) 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 $120,510 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 $106,973 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.