Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,942
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,588
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,996
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
$48,530
Kept after tax
$39,942
Worth in national money
$44,996
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Iowa pays this job a middle wage of $48,530, 38 of 51 states and about 19.49% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 310.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,530 you keep $39,942, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,996 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $57,330, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa's $48,530 median for mental health and substance abuse social workers places it 38 of 51 states, about 19.49% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, mental health and substance abuse social workers sits at 310 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.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for mental health and substance abuse social workers on $48,530 is $39,942. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,996 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 $57,330 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,760 |
| This salary | $48,530 |
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 | $39,942 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,174 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,625 |
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 | $46,996 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,175 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,530 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,980 and the ninetieth is $80,760 — 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 $39,942, worked from $48,530. 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 310 of 493.
- Two cautions on $44,996, the adjusted value of that $48,530 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Iowa. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 310 of 493 locally.
- The Iowa median of $48,530 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,980 to $80,760. 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 $39,942, on $48,530 for work ranking 310 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 310 of 493 in the state.
- This $44,996 adjusted figure, worked from $48,530, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 310 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 310 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $57,330 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,980 at the bottom tenth to $80,760 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $44,996 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 $39,942.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $57,330. 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 ($37,980) and the ninetieth ($80,760) 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 $44,996 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 $39,942 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.