Hazardous Materials Removal Workers in Iowa

A hard hat, safety glasses and tool belt beside timber house framing.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$40,967

after federal, FICA and Iowa tax

Tax takes

$8,903

17.9% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$46,151

Iowa costs less than average

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

$49,870

Kept after tax

$40,967

Worth in national money

$46,151

State rank

19

of 51 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Iowa sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $49,870, ranking 19 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
  • Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 296 among 493 occupations Iowa publishes pay for.
  • Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $49,870 you keep $40,967 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $46,151 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $50,630, since top earners drag the number up.
  • Iowa occupies the middle band for hazardous materials removal workers: a median of $49,870, ranking 19 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
  • Position 296 of 493 in Iowa places hazardous materials removal workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
  • Retained pay in Iowa is $40,967 after the full tax stack, from $49,870. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $46,151 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $50,630 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.

Compare this career across states

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Pay band: Hazardous Materials Removal Workers

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$38,490
Half earn under$49,870
Top tenth earn over$61,150
This salary$49,870

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

Compare with
+$1,283take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Iowa$40,967
Take-home in Texas$42,251
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$2,673

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

Moving to
$0$53,102
$53,102in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$48,273
Raise you would need+$3,232
Prices in Texas97 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 hazardous materials removal workers in Iowa earn under $49,870 and half over. The published range runs $38,490 at the tenth percentile to $61,150 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 $40,967, worked from $49,870. 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 296 of 493.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,151, the adjusted value of that $49,870 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 296 of 493 in the state.
  • Figures are distribution medians for hazardous materials removal workers in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,490 to $61,150; 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 $40,967, on $49,870 for work ranking 296 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 296 of 493 in the state.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $46,151 — the adjusted value of that $49,870 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 296 of 493 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,490 and the top tenth $61,150, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $46,151.

Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?

Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Iowa then takes its own share, leaving $40,967.

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 ($38,490 to $61,150) 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 $46,151 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 $40,967 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.