Clergy in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,204
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$11,426
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,431
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
$60,630
Kept after tax
$49,204
Worth in national money
$55,431
State rank
23
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 23 of 50 states for clergy, with a middle wage of $60,630. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 212.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,630 you keep $49,204, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $55,431 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $60,200, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Iowa ranks 23 of 50 for clergy at $60,630. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, clergy sits at 212 of 493 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for clergy on $60,630 is $49,204. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $55,431 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 $60,200 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Clergy
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,630 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,340 |
| This salary | $60,630 |
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 | $49,204 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,896 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,055 |
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 | $58,524 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,694 |
| 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 $60,630. The published range is $46,920 up to $73,340, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $49,204, from $60,630, 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 212 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $55,431, the adjusted value of that $60,630 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 212 of 493 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for clergy in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,920 to $73,340. 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 $49,204 from $60,630. 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 212 of 493 locally.
- This $55,431 adjusted figure, worked from $60,630, 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 212 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 212 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $46,920 at the tenth percentile, $73,340 at the ninetieth.
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 $55,431 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, $49,204 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,920 to $73,340) 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 $55,431 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 $49,204 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.