Fence Erectors in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,988
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$9,522
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,428
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
$52,510
Kept after tax
$42,988
Worth in national money
$48,428
State rank
8
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is one of the better-paying states for fence erectors. The middle earner takes $52,510, which ranks 8 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 9.44% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 273.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $52,510 you keep $42,988 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $48,428 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $53,740, since top earners drag the number up.
- Iowa ranks 8 of 45 states publishing a median for fence erectors, at $52,510 — about 9.44% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, fence erectors sits at 273 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.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $42,988 after the full tax stack, from $52,510. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $48,428 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $53,740 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Fence Erectors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,100 |
| This salary | $52,510 |
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 | $42,988 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,372 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,766 |
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 | $50,788 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,346 |
| 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 $52,510. The published range is $44,230 up to $61,100, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $42,988 take-home in Iowa comes from $52,510. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 273 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $48,428 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 273.
- Reported values are medians; for fence erectors in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,230 to $61,100. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $42,988, from $52,510, assumes a single Iowa filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 273 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $48,428, worked from $52,510, 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 273 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $44,230 and the top tenth $61,100, 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 $48,428 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, $42,988 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 45 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 ($44,230 to $61,100) 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 $48,428 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 $42,988 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.