Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,208
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$4,382
14.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,525
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
$30,590
Kept after tax
$26,208
Worth in national money
$29,525
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks. The middle earner takes $30,590, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 12.77% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Iowa, this one sits low: 473 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $30,590 you keep $26,208, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $29,525 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $31,560, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 36 of 51 for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks, with a median of $30,590 — about 12.77% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks occupies position 473 of 493 in Iowa's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks on $30,590 is $26,208. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $29,525 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 $31,560 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,190 |
| This salary | $30,590 |
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 | $26,208 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,759 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,988 |
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 | $29,905 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,404 |
| 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 $30,590. The published range is $22,840 up to $37,190, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $26,208, worked from $30,590. 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 473 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,525, the adjusted value of that $30,590 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 473 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,840 to $37,190. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Iowa take-home of $26,208, on $30,590 for work ranking 473 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 473 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $29,525 — the adjusted value of that $30,590 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 473 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $31,560, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $22,840 at the tenth percentile, $37,190 at the ninetieth.
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 $29,525 in national terms.
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 $26,208.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Iowa is $31,560. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,840 to $37,190) 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 $29,525 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 $26,208 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.