Civil Engineers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,616
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$22,814
23.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$82,932
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
$96,430
Kept after tax
$73,616
Worth in national money
$82,932
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for civil engineers. The middle earner takes $96,430, ranking 38 of 51 states — about 4.37% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Iowa this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, civil engineers ranks 57 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $96,430 you keep $73,616, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $82,932 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $99,950, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 38 of 51 for civil engineers, with a median of $96,430 — about 4.37% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Iowa publishes a median for, civil engineers sits 57 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for civil engineers on $96,430 is $73,616. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $82,932 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 $99,950 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Civil Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,480 |
| This salary | $96,430 |
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 | $73,616 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,669 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,034 |
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 | $92,091 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,573 |
| 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 $96,430. The published range is $64,900 up to $135,480, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $73,616, from $96,430, 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 57 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $82,932, the adjusted value of that $96,430 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 57 of 493 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for civil engineers in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,900 to $135,480. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $73,616 from $96,430. 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 57 of 493 locally.
- This $82,932 adjusted figure, worked from $96,430, 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 57 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 57 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $99,950, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $64,900 and the top tenth $135,480 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $82,932 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 $73,616.
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 $99,950. 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 ($64,900) and the ninetieth ($135,480) 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 $82,932 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 $73,616 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.