Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,281
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,999
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,505
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
$50,280
Kept after tax
$41,281
Worth in national money
$46,505
State rank
23
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $50,280, ranking 23 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 293.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $50,280 the take-home is $41,281; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,505 would nationally. The average comes to $53,830, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa occupies the middle band for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers: a median of $50,280, ranking 23 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, jewelers and precious stone and metal workers sits at 293 of 493 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers in Iowa, on $50,280, is $41,281 — equivalent to $46,505 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 $53,830 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,930 |
| This salary | $50,280 |
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 | $41,281 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,580 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,687 |
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 | $48,664 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,250 |
| 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 $50,280. The published range is $37,370 up to $69,930, 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 $41,281, worked from $50,280. 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 293 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,505, the adjusted value of that $50,280 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 293 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,370 to $69,930. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Iowa take-home of $41,281, on $50,280 for work ranking 293 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 293 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $46,505 — the adjusted value of that $50,280 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 293 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 $53,830, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,370 and the top tenth $69,930, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $46,505 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Iowa's own levy, $41,281 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $53,830. 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 ($37,370 to $69,930) 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 $46,505 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 $41,281 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.