Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,871
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$12,889
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,688
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
$66,760
Kept after tax
$53,871
Worth in national money
$60,688
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $66,760, ranking 26 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Iowa, this sits in the middle: 162 of 493 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $66,760 you keep $53,871 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $60,688 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $76,490, since top earners drag the number up.
- Iowa occupies the middle band for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products: a median of $66,760, ranking 26 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.
- Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products ranks 162 of 493 occupations in Iowa by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $53,871 after the full tax stack, from $66,760. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $60,688 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $76,490 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $124,590 |
| This salary | $66,760 |
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 | $53,871 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,796 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,270 |
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 | $64,332 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,517 |
| 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 sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products in Iowa earn under $66,760 and half over. The published range runs $39,960 at the tenth percentile to $124,590 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $53,871, from $66,760, 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 162 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 $60,688, the adjusted value of that $66,760 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 162 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,960 to $124,590; 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.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $53,871 from $66,760. 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 162 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $60,688 — the adjusted value of that $66,760 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 162 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 $76,490, 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 $39,960, the highest tenth $124,590, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $60,688 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $53,871.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $76,490. 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 ($39,960) and the ninetieth ($124,590) 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 $60,688 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 $53,871 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.