Chemical Technicians in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,260
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$10,830
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,240
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
$58,090
Kept after tax
$47,260
Worth in national money
$53,240
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa sits in the middle of the pack for chemical technicians. The median is $58,090, ranking 33 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Iowa, this sits in the middle: 241 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 $58,090 you keep $47,260, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,240 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $58,510, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa occupies the middle band for chemical technicians: a median of $58,090, ranking 33 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Chemical technicians ranks 241 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 chemical technicians on $58,090 is $47,260. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,240 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 $58,510 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,070 |
| This salary | $58,090 |
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 | $47,260 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,855 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,965 |
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 | $56,104 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,585 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,090 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,750 and the ninetieth is $74,070 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $47,260 take-home in Iowa comes from $58,090. 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 241 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,240 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 241.
- The Iowa median of $58,090 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,750 to $74,070. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $47,260, from $58,090, 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 241 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,240, worked from $58,090, 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 241 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,750 at the tenth percentile, $74,070 at the ninetieth.
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 $53,240 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 $47,260.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,750 to $74,070) 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 $53,240 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 $47,260 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.