Manicurists and Pedicurists in Iowa

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,561
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$7,859
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,314
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
$45,420
Kept after tax
$37,561
Worth in national money
$42,314
State rank
7
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is one of the better-paying states for manicurists and pedicurists. The middle earner takes $45,420, which ranks 7 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 27.01% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Iowa, this sits in the middle: 368 of 493 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,420 the take-home is $37,561; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,314 would nationally. The average lands at $42,300, below the middle of the range.
- Iowa ranks 7 of 49 states publishing a median for manicurists and pedicurists, at $45,420 — about 27.01% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Manicurists and pedicurists ranks 368 of 493 occupations in Iowa by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for manicurists and pedicurists in Iowa, on $45,420, is $37,561 — equivalent to $42,314 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 $42,300 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Manicurists and Pedicurists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $15,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,150 |
| This salary | $45,420 |
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 | $37,561 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,675 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,515 |
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 | $44,033 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,041 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,420 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $15,800 and the ninetieth is $58,150 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $37,561, from $45,420, 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 368 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,314, the adjusted value of that $45,420 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 368 of 493 in the state.
- The Iowa median of $45,420 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $15,800 to $58,150. 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 $37,561 from $45,420. 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 368 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $42,314 — the adjusted value of that $45,420 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 368 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 $42,300, 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 $15,800 and the top tenth $58,150 — 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 $42,314.
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, $37,561 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $42,300. 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 ($15,800) and the ninetieth ($58,150) 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 $42,314 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 $37,561 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.