Fast Food and Counter Workers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,522
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$3,868
13.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,625
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
$28,390
Kept after tax
$24,522
Worth in national money
$27,625
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Iowa pays fast food and counter workers a middle wage of $28,390, 38 of 51 states and about 9.01% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Iowa this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, fast food and counter workers ranks 485. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,390 you keep $24,522, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,625 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $28,940, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa's $28,390 median for fast food and counter workers places it 38 of 51 states, about 9.01% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Iowa reports, fast food and counter workers ranks 485 of 493, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for fast food and counter workers on $28,390 is $24,522. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,625 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 $28,940 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Fast Food and Counter Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,990 |
| This salary | $28,390 |
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 | $24,522 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,989 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,910 |
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 | $27,823 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,307 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of fast food and counter workers in Iowa earn under $28,390 and half over. The published range runs $21,620 at the tenth percentile to $35,990 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $24,522, from $28,390, 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 485 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $27,625 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 485.
- Figures are distribution medians for fast food and counter workers in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $21,620 to $35,990; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $24,522 from $28,390. 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 485 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,625, worked from $28,390, 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 485 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $21,620 at the bottom tenth to $35,990 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $27,625 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Iowa adds its own income tax on top — which is why $24,522 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,620 to $35,990) 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 $27,625 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 $24,522 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.