Food Processing Workers, All Other in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,744
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$6,996
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,140
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
$41,740
Kept after tax
$34,744
Worth in national money
$39,140
State rank
16
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 16 of 46 states for food processing workers, all other, with a middle wage of $41,740. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Iowa this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, food processing workers, all other ranks 396. 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 $41,740 you keep $34,744, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,140 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $41,820, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 16 of 46 for food processing workers, all other at $41,740. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Iowa reports, food processing workers, all other ranks 396 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 food processing workers, all other on $41,740 is $34,744. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,140 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 $41,820 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,140 |
| This salary | $41,740 |
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 | $34,744 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,718 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,384 |
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 | $40,527 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,883 |
| 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 food processing workers, all other in Iowa earn under $41,740 and half over. The published range runs $40,230 at the tenth percentile to $43,140 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $34,744 take-home in Iowa comes from $41,740. 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 396 of 493.
- Two cautions on $39,140, the adjusted value of that $41,740 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 396 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for food processing workers, all other in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,230 to $43,140; 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.
- Retained pay of $34,744, from $41,740, 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 396 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 16 of 46 for it.
- This $39,140 adjusted figure, worked from $41,740, 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 396 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 396 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $40,230 at the bottom tenth to $43,140 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 $39,140 in national terms.
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 $34,744 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,230 to $43,140) 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 $39,140 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 $34,744 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.