Biological Technicians in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,574
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,476
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,582
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
$48,050
Kept after tax
$39,574
Worth in national money
$44,582
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for biological technicians. The middle earner takes $48,050, ranking 44 of 51 states — about 16.45% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Biological technicians ranks 323 among 493 occupations Iowa publishes pay for.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,050 you keep $39,574, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,582 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $54,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 44 of 51 for biological technicians, with a median of $48,050 — about 16.45% 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.
- Position 323 of 493 in Iowa places biological technicians in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for biological technicians on $48,050 is $39,574. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,582 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 $54,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,510 |
| This salary | $48,050 |
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 | $39,574 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,788 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,608 |
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 | $46,539 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,154 |
| 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 biological technicians in Iowa earn under $48,050 and half over. The published range runs $39,310 at the tenth percentile to $72,510 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $39,574, from $48,050, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 323 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $44,582, the adjusted value of that $48,050 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 323 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for biological technicians in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,310 to $72,510; 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.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,574 from $48,050. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 323 of 493 locally.
- This $44,582 adjusted figure, worked from $48,050, 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 323 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 323 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 $54,470 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,310 at the bottom tenth to $72,510 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $44,582 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, $39,574 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 $54,470. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,310 to $72,510) 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 $44,582 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 $39,574 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.