Engineers, All Other in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,048
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$25,042
24.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,925
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
$103,090
Kept after tax
$78,048
Worth in national money
$87,925
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for engineers, all other is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $103,090. That is 41 of 51 states, and about 16.14% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Iowa. It ranks 39 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $103,090 you keep $78,048, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $87,925 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $103,560, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For engineers, all other, Iowa sits in the lower band at $103,090, ranking 41 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 16.14%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Iowa, engineers, all other ranks 39 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for engineers, all other on $103,090 is $78,048. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $87,925 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 $103,560 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Engineers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $103,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,760 |
| This salary | $103,090 |
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 | $78,048 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,354 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,206 |
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 | $98,391 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,810 |
| 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 $103,090. The published range is $65,580 up to $129,760, 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 $78,048, worked from $103,090. 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 39 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $87,925, the adjusted value of that $103,090 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 39 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for engineers, all other in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $65,580 to $129,760. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Iowa take-home of $78,048, on $103,090 for work ranking 39 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 39 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $87,925 — the adjusted value of that $103,090 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 39 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $65,580 and the top tenth $129,760, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $87,925 in national terms.
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, $78,048 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($65,580 to $129,760) 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 $87,925 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 $78,048 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.