Athletic Trainers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,223
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$10,207
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,946
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
$55,430
Kept after tax
$45,223
Worth in national money
$50,946
State rank
48
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for athletic trainers is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $55,430. That is 48 of 50 states, and about 11.34% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in Iowa, this sits in the middle: 262 of 493 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,430 you keep $45,223, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,946 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $56,170, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For athletic trainers, Iowa sits in the lower band at $55,430, ranking 48 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 11.34%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Athletic trainers ranks 262 of 493 occupations in Iowa by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for athletic trainers on $55,430 is $45,223. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,946 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $56,170 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Athletic Trainers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,620 |
| This salary | $55,430 |
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 | $45,223 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,718 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,870 |
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 | $53,570 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,471 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of athletic trainers in Iowa earn under $55,430 and half over. The published range runs $47,250 at the tenth percentile to $69,620 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $45,223, worked from $55,430. 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 262 of 493.
- Two cautions on $50,946, the adjusted value of that $55,430 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Iowa. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 262 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for athletic trainers in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,250 to $69,620; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Iowa take-home of $45,223, on $55,430 for work ranking 262 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 262 of 493 in the state.
- This $50,946 adjusted figure, worked from $55,430, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 262 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 262 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,250 at the bottom tenth to $69,620 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $50,946.
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 $45,223.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,250 to $69,620) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Iowa rather than a national figure.
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 $50,946 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 $45,223 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.