Bartenders in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$19,283
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$2,437
11.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$21,723
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
$21,720
Kept after tax
$19,283
Worth in national money
$21,723
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for bartenders. The middle earner takes $21,720, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 36.75% 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: 492 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $21,720 you keep $19,283, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $21,723 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $25,620, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 49 of 51 for bartenders, with a median of $21,720 — about 36.75% 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.
- Bartenders occupies position 492 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.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for bartenders on $21,720 is $19,283. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $21,723 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 $25,620 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bartenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $16,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $21,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,520 |
| This salary | $21,720 |
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 | $19,283 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $19,496 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,660 |
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 | $21,461 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,959 |
| 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 bartenders in Iowa earn under $21,720 and half over. The published range runs $16,730 at the tenth percentile to $39,520 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $19,283 take-home in Iowa comes from $21,720. 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 492 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $21,723 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 492.
- Figures are distribution medians for bartenders in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $16,730 to $39,520; 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.
- Retained pay of $19,283, from $21,720, 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 492 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 49 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $21,723, worked from $21,720, 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 492 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 $25,620 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 $16,730 at the bottom tenth to $39,520 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 $21,723 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Iowa's own levy, $19,283 remains.
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 $25,620. 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 ($16,730) and the ninetieth ($39,520) 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 $21,723 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 $19,283 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.