Machinists in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,839
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$10,701
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,766
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
$57,540
Kept after tax
$46,839
Worth in national money
$52,766
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for machinists. The middle earner takes $57,540, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 2.06% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Machinists ranks 251 among 493 occupations Iowa publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $57,540 you keep $46,839 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,766 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $56,960.
- Iowa ranks 36 of 51 for machinists, with a median of $57,540 — about 2.06% 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.
- Position 251 of 493 in Iowa places machinists 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 $46,839 after the full tax stack, from $57,540. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,766 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $56,960 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Machinists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,160 |
| This salary | $57,540 |
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 | $46,839 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,413 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,945 |
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 | $55,580 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,562 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $57,540 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,500 and the ninetieth is $71,160 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $46,839, worked from $57,540. 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 251 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,766 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 251.
- The Iowa median of $57,540 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,500 to $71,160. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Iowa take-home of $46,839, on $57,540 for work ranking 251 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 251 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,766, worked from $57,540, 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 251 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,500 at the bottom tenth to $71,160 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $52,766 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 $46,839.
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 ($44,500 to $71,160) 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 $52,766 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 $46,839 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.