Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,231
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$18,599
22.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,485
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
$83,830
Kept after tax
$65,231
Worth in national money
$73,485
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Iowa pays this job a middle wage of $83,830, ranking 17 of 51 states and sitting about 12.77% above the national middle.
- Within Iowa this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 85 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $83,830 you keep $65,231, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $73,485 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $80,600, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Iowa's median for control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door is $83,830, about 12.77% above the national figure and 17 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Iowa publishes a median for, control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door sits 85 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 control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door on $83,830 is $65,231. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $73,485 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 $80,600 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $103,890 |
| This salary | $83,830 |
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 | $65,231 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,804 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,710 |
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 | $80,172 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,124 |
| 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 $83,830. The published range is $50,400 up to $103,890, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $65,231, worked from $83,830. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 85 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $73,485 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 85.
- Reported values are medians; for control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,400 to $103,890. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Iowa take-home of $65,231, on $83,830 for work ranking 85 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 85 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $73,485, worked from $83,830, 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 85 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $80,600, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $50,400 at the bottom tenth to $103,890 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $73,485 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 $65,231.
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 $80,600. 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 ($50,400 to $103,890) 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 $73,485 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 $65,231 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.