Prepress Technicians and Workers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,360
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,410
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,340
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
$47,770
Kept after tax
$39,360
Worth in national money
$44,340
State rank
26
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 26 of 45 states for prepress technicians and workers, with a middle wage of $47,770. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 329.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,770 the take-home is $39,360; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $44,340 would nationally. The average comes to $48,400, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa ranks 26 of 45 for prepress technicians and workers at $47,770. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, prepress technicians and workers sits at 329 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 prepress technicians and workers in Iowa, on $47,770, is $39,360 — equivalent to $44,340 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 $48,400 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Prepress Technicians and Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,280 |
| This salary | $47,770 |
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 | $39,360 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,563 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,598 |
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 | $46,272 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,142 |
| 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 prepress technicians and workers in Iowa earn under $47,770 and half over. The published range runs $31,210 at the tenth percentile to $63,280 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 $39,360, worked from $47,770. 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 329 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $44,340, the adjusted value of that $47,770 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 329 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for prepress technicians and workers in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,210 to $63,280; 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 $39,360, on $47,770 for work ranking 329 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 329 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $44,340 — the adjusted value of that $47,770 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 329 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,210 and the top tenth $63,280, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Iowa sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $44,340 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $39,360 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 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,210 to $63,280) 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 $44,340 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 $39,360 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.