Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,765
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,535
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,798
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
$48,300
Kept after tax
$39,765
Worth in national money
$44,798
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $48,300, which ranks 14 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 29.91% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 316.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,300 the take-home is $39,765; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $44,798 would nationally. The average comes to $50,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa ranks 14 of 51 states publishing a median for motor vehicle operators, all other, at $48,300 — about 29.91% 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.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, motor vehicle operators, all other sits at 316 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 motor vehicle operators, all other in Iowa, on $48,300, is $39,765 — equivalent to $44,798 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 $50,390 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,530 |
| This salary | $48,300 |
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 | $39,765 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,989 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,617 |
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 | $46,777 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,165 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,300 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,560 and the ninetieth is $61,530 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $39,765 take-home in Iowa comes from $48,300. 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 316 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,798 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 316.
- The Iowa median of $48,300 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,560 to $61,530. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $39,765, from $48,300, 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 316 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,798, worked from $48,300, 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 316 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 $50,390, 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 $39,560 and the top tenth $61,530, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $44,798.
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 $39,765 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $50,390. 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 ($39,560 to $61,530) 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 $44,798 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 $39,765 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.