School Bus Monitors in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,854
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$4,886
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,379
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
$32,740
Kept after tax
$27,854
Worth in national money
$31,379
State rank
35
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for school bus monitors. The middle earner takes $32,740, ranking 35 of 50 states — about 6.72% 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: 466 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Iowa is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $32,740 the take-home is $27,854; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,379 would nationally. The average lands at $32,260, below the middle of the range.
- Iowa ranks 35 of 50 for school bus monitors, with a median of $32,740 — about 6.72% 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.
- School bus monitors occupies position 466 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 school bus monitors in Iowa, on $32,740, is $27,854 — equivalent to $31,379 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 $32,260 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: School Bus Monitors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,540 |
| This salary | $32,740 |
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 | $27,854 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,487 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,064 |
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 | $31,953 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,497 |
| 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 school bus monitors in Iowa earn under $32,740 and half over. The published range runs $28,180 at the tenth percentile to $36,540 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 $27,854, worked from $32,740. 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 466 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,379, the adjusted value of that $32,740 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 466 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for school bus monitors in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,180 to $36,540; 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 $27,854, on $32,740 for work ranking 466 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 466 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $31,379 — the adjusted value of that $32,740 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 466 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $28,180 at the tenth percentile, $36,540 at the ninetieth.
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 $31,379.
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 $27,854 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,180 to $36,540) 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 $31,379 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 $27,854 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.