Occupational Therapists in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,277
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$20,633
22.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,044
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
$89,910
Kept after tax
$69,277
Worth in national money
$78,044
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for occupational therapists is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $89,910. That is 44 of 51 states, and about 10.39% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Within Iowa this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, occupational therapists ranks 70 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $89,910 you keep $69,277, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $78,044 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $89,720, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For occupational therapists, Iowa sits in the lower band at $89,910, ranking 44 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 10.39%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Ranked against every occupation Iowa publishes a median for, occupational therapists sits 70 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for occupational therapists on $89,910 is $69,277. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $78,044 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 $89,720 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $89,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $109,200 |
| This salary | $89,910 |
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 | $69,277 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $72,082 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,866 |
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 | $85,923 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,341 |
| 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 occupational therapists in Iowa earn under $89,910 and half over. The published range runs $64,610 at the tenth percentile to $109,200 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $69,277, worked from $89,910. 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 70 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $78,044, the adjusted value of that $89,910 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 70 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for occupational therapists in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $64,610 to $109,200; 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.
- The Iowa take-home of $69,277, on $89,910 for work ranking 70 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 70 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $78,044 — the adjusted value of that $89,910 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 70 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $64,610 at the tenth percentile, $109,200 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 $78,044 in national terms.
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 $69,277 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($64,610 to $109,200) 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 $78,044 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 $69,277 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.