Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,745
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$7,915
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,521
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
$45,660
Kept after tax
$37,745
Worth in national money
$42,521
State rank
12
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $45,660, which ranks 12 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 5.65% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 361.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,660 the take-home is $37,745; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,521 would nationally. The average comes to $48,340, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa ranks 12 of 50 states publishing a median for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders, at $45,660 — about 5.65% 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, packaging and filling machine operators and tenders sits at 361 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 packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in Iowa, on $45,660, is $37,745 — equivalent to $42,521 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 $48,340 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,230 |
| This salary | $45,660 |
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 | $37,745 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,868 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,523 |
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 | $44,262 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,052 |
| 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 packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in Iowa earn under $45,660 and half over. The published range runs $37,040 at the tenth percentile to $63,230 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,745 take-home in Iowa comes from $45,660. 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 361 of 493.
- Two cautions on $42,521, the adjusted value of that $45,660 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Iowa. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 361 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,040 to $63,230; 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.
- Retained pay of $37,745, from $45,660, 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 361 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 50 for it.
- This $42,521 adjusted figure, worked from $45,660, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 361 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 361 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $48,340, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,040 at the tenth percentile, $63,230 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 $42,521 in national terms.
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 $37,745.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $48,340. 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 ($37,040 to $63,230) 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 $42,521 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 $37,745 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.