Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,675
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$4,525
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,051
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
$31,200
Kept after tax
$26,675
Worth in national money
$30,051
State rank
37
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $31,200, ranking 37 of 46 states — about 25% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Iowa, this one sits low: 470 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $31,200 the take-home is $26,675; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $30,051 would nationally. The average comes to $31,720, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa ranks 37 of 46 for personal care and service workers, all other, with a median of $31,200 — about 25% 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.
- Personal care and service workers, all other occupies position 470 of 493 in Iowa's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for personal care and service workers, all other in Iowa, on $31,200, is $26,675 — equivalent to $30,051 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 $31,720 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,060 |
| This salary | $31,200 |
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 | $26,675 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,249 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,010 |
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 | $30,486 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,430 |
| 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 $31,200. The published range is $21,730 up to $42,060, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $26,675 take-home in Iowa comes from $31,200. 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 470 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,051 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 470.
- Reported values are medians; for personal care and service workers, all other in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $21,730 to $42,060. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $26,675, from $31,200, 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 470 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 37 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,051, worked from $31,200, 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 470 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $21,730 and the top tenth $42,060, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $30,051.
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, $26,675 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,730 to $42,060) 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 $30,051 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 $26,675 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.