Nurse Practitioners in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,896
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$34,264
26.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$108,031
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
$130,160
Kept after tax
$95,896
Worth in national money
$108,031
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 32 of 51 states for nurse practitioners, with a middle wage of $130,160. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Iowa. It ranks 14 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $130,160 the take-home is $95,896; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $108,031 would nationally. The average comes to $136,940, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa ranks 32 of 51 for nurse practitioners at $130,160. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Iowa, nurse practitioners ranks 14 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for nurse practitioners in Iowa, on $130,160, is $95,896 — equivalent to $108,031 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 $136,940 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Nurse Practitioners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $107,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $130,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $167,590 |
| This salary | $130,160 |
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 | $95,896 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $100,230 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,887 |
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 | $123,819 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,948 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Iowa earn less than $130,160. The published range is $107,990 up to $167,590, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $95,896, from $130,160, 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 14 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $108,031 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 14.
- Reported values are medians; for nurse practitioners in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $107,990 to $167,590. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $95,896 from $130,160. 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 14 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $108,031, worked from $130,160, 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 14 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 $136,940, 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 — $107,990 at the tenth percentile, $167,590 at the ninetieth.
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 $108,031 in national terms.
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, $95,896 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $136,940. 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 ($107,990 to $167,590) 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 $108,031 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 $95,896 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.