Human Resources Managers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$93,450
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$32,920
26.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$105,275
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
$126,370
Kept after tax
$93,450
Worth in national money
$105,275
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Iowa pays human resources managers a middle wage of $126,370, 39 of 51 states and about 15.35% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Iowa this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, human resources managers ranks 17 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $126,370 you keep $93,450, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $105,275 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $137,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa's $126,370 median for human resources managers places it 39 of 51 states, about 15.35% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Ranked against every occupation Iowa publishes a median for, human resources managers sits 17 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for human resources managers on $126,370 is $93,450. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $105,275 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 $137,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Human Resources Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $86,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $126,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $206,900 |
| This salary | $126,370 |
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 | $93,450 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $97,640 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,797 |
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 | $120,284 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,820 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $126,370 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $86,190 and the ninetieth is $206,900 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $93,450, from $126,370, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 17 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $105,275 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 17.
- The Iowa median of $126,370 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $86,190 to $206,900. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $93,450 from $126,370. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 17 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $105,275, worked from $126,370, 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 17 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 $137,710, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $86,190 and the top tenth $206,900 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $105,275.
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 $93,450 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $137,710. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($86,190) and the ninetieth ($206,900) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $105,275 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 $93,450 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.