Operations Research Analysts in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,068
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$17,512
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,049
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
$80,580
Kept after tax
$63,068
Worth in national money
$71,049
State rank
32
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for operations research analysts. The middle earner takes $80,580, ranking 32 of 47 states — about 9.4% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Iowa reports, operations research analysts comes in at 98 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $80,580 you keep $63,068 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $71,049 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $90,760, since top earners drag the number up.
- Iowa ranks 32 of 47 for operations research analysts, with a median of $80,580 — about 9.4% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Operations research analysts ranks 98 of 493 occupations by median in Iowa, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $63,068 after the full tax stack, from $80,580. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $71,049 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $90,760 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $140,960 |
| This salary | $80,580 |
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 | $63,068 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,518 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,626 |
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 | $77,097 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,009 |
| 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 $80,580. The published range is $47,520 up to $140,960, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $63,068, from $80,580, 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 98 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $71,049, the adjusted value of that $80,580 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 98 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for operations research analysts in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,520 to $140,960. 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 $63,068 from $80,580. 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 98 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $71,049 — the adjusted value of that $80,580 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 98 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 $90,760 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 $47,520 at the bottom tenth to $140,960 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 $71,049 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 $63,068 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $90,760. 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 ($47,520) and the ninetieth ($140,960) 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 $71,049 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 $63,068 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.