Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,841
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$4,269
14.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,111
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
$30,110
Kept after tax
$25,841
Worth in national money
$29,111
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for food servers, nonrestaurant is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $30,110. That is 44 of 51 states, and about 14.85% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 493 occupations Iowa publishes, food servers, nonrestaurant lands at 476. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $30,110 you keep $25,841, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $29,111 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $31,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For food servers, nonrestaurant, Iowa sits in the lower band at $30,110, ranking 44 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 14.85%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Iowa, this work ranks 476 of 493 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for food servers, nonrestaurant on $30,110 is $25,841. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $29,111 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 $31,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,600 |
| This salary | $30,110 |
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 | $25,841 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,373 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,971 |
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 | $29,447 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,384 |
| 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 servers, nonrestaurant in Iowa earn under $30,110 and half over. The published range runs $27,020 at the tenth percentile to $36,600 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $25,841, worked from $30,110. 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 476 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,111, the adjusted value of that $30,110 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 476 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for food servers, nonrestaurant in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $27,020 to $36,600; 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.
- The Iowa take-home of $25,841, on $30,110 for work ranking 476 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 476 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $29,111 — the adjusted value of that $30,110 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 476 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $27,020 at the tenth percentile, $36,600 at the ninetieth.
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 $29,111 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 $25,841 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($27,020 to $36,600) 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 $29,111 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 $25,841 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.