Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,881
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$17,419
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,839
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
$80,300
Kept after tax
$62,881
Worth in national money
$70,839
State rank
24
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 24 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $80,300. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Iowa reports, this job comes in at 101 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $80,300 you keep $62,881, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $70,839 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $91,700, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 24 of 48 for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary at $80,300. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary ranks 101 of 493 occupations by median in Iowa, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary on $80,300 is $62,881. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $70,839 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 $91,700 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $134,040 |
| This salary | $80,300 |
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 | $62,881 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,321 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,619 |
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 | $76,832 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,999 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of mathematical science teachers, postsecondary in Iowa earn under $80,300 and half over. The published range runs $52,810 at the tenth percentile to $134,040 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $62,881 take-home in Iowa comes from $80,300. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 101 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $70,839 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 101.
- Figures are distribution medians for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $52,810 to $134,040; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $62,881, from $80,300, assumes a single Iowa filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 101 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 24 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,839, worked from $80,300, 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 101 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 $91,700, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $52,810 at the bottom tenth to $134,040 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $70,839.
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 $62,881 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 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 $91,700. 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 ($52,810) and the ninetieth ($134,040) 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 $70,839 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 $62,881 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.