Industrial Engineers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,454
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$23,236
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$83,876
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
$97,690
Kept after tax
$74,454
Worth in national money
$83,876
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for industrial engineers is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $97,690. That is 44 of 51 states, and about 4.64% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Iowa. It ranks 52 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $97,690 the take-home is $74,454; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $83,876 would nationally. The average comes to $99,900, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For industrial engineers, Iowa sits in the lower band at $97,690, ranking 44 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 4.64%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Iowa, industrial engineers ranks 52 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for industrial engineers in Iowa, on $97,690, is $74,454 — equivalent to $83,876 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $99,900 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Industrial Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $72,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,690 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,610 |
| This salary | $97,690 |
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 | $74,454 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,555 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,067 |
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 | $93,283 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,617 |
| 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 $97,690. The published range is $72,380 up to $133,610, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $74,454, from $97,690, 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 52 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 $83,876 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 52.
- Reported values are medians; for industrial engineers in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $72,380 to $133,610. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $74,454 from $97,690. 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 52 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $83,876, worked from $97,690, 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 52 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $72,380 at the tenth percentile, $133,610 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 $83,876 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 $74,454.
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 ($72,380 to $133,610) 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 $83,876 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 $74,454 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.