Roofers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,041
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,619
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,108
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
$48,660
Kept after tax
$40,041
Worth in national money
$45,108
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa sits in the middle of the pack for roofers. The median is $48,660, ranking 33 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Roofers ranks 309 among 493 occupations Iowa publishes pay for.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,660 the take-home is $40,041; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,108 would nationally. The average comes to $52,070, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Iowa occupies the middle band for roofers: a median of $48,660, ranking 33 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 309 of 493 in Iowa places roofers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for roofers in Iowa, on $48,660, is $40,041 — equivalent to $45,108 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 $52,070 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Roofers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,010 |
| This salary | $48,660 |
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 | $40,041 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,278 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,630 |
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 | $47,120 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,180 |
| 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 $48,660. The published range is $37,070 up to $65,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $40,041, worked from $48,660. 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 309 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,108, the adjusted value of that $48,660 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 309 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for roofers in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,070 to $65,010. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Iowa take-home of $40,041, on $48,660 for work ranking 309 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 309 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $45,108 — the adjusted value of that $48,660 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 309 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $52,070, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,070 at the bottom tenth to $65,010 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $45,108.
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 $40,041.
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 $52,070. 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 ($37,070 to $65,010) 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 $45,108 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 $40,041 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.