Project Management Specialists in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,689
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$22,851
23.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$83,014
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
$96,540
Kept after tax
$73,689
Worth in national money
$83,014
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 31 of 51 states for project management specialists, with a middle wage of $96,540. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Iowa. It ranks 56 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $96,540 you keep $73,689, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $83,014 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $106,580, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 31 of 51 for project management specialists at $96,540. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Iowa, project management specialists ranks 56 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for project management specialists on $96,540 is $73,689. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $83,014 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 $106,580 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Project Management Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $150,290 |
| This salary | $96,540 |
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 | $73,689 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,746 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,037 |
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 | $92,195 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,577 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $96,540 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $62,000 and the ninetieth is $150,290 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $73,689, from $96,540, 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 56 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 $83,014, the adjusted value of that $96,540 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 56 of 493 in the state.
- The Iowa median of $96,540 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $62,000 to $150,290. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $73,689 from $96,540. 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 56 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $83,014 — the adjusted value of that $96,540 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 56 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 $106,580, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $62,000, the highest tenth $150,290, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $83,014 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 $73,689.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $106,580. 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 ($62,000) and the ninetieth ($150,290) 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 $83,014 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 $73,689 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.