Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,013
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,917
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,203
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
$49,930
Kept after tax
$41,013
Worth in national money
$46,203
State rank
31
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Iowa pays this job around $49,930 at the midpoint, 31 of 49 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 295.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,930 you keep $41,013, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,203 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $51,530, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For motorboat mechanics and service technicians the Iowa median is $49,930, ranking 31 of 49 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, motorboat mechanics and service technicians sits at 295 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 motorboat mechanics and service technicians on $49,930 is $41,013. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,203 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 $51,530 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,700 |
| This salary | $49,930 |
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 | $41,013 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,299 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,675 |
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 | $48,330 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,235 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $49,930 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,110 and the ninetieth is $66,700 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $41,013 take-home in Iowa comes from $49,930. 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 295 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,203 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 295.
- The Iowa median of $49,930 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,110 to $66,700. 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 $41,013, from $49,930, 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 295 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,203, worked from $49,930, 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 295 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 $51,530, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $34,110 at the tenth percentile, $66,700 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,203.
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 $41,013.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $51,530. 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 ($34,110 to $66,700) 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 $46,203 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 $41,013 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.