Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,175
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$10,805
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,145
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
$57,980
Kept after tax
$47,175
Worth in national money
$53,145
State rank
8
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Iowa pays this job a middle wage of $57,980, ranking 8 of 49 states and sitting about 16.24% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Iowa reports figures for, this is number 245.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $57,980 you keep $47,175 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $53,145 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $57,200.
- Iowa's median for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners is $57,980, about 16.24% above the national figure and 8 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Iowa's occupational distribution, septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners sits at 245 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.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $47,175 after the full tax stack, from $57,980. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,145 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $57,200 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,660 |
| This salary | $57,980 |
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 | $47,175 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,767 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,961 |
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 | $55,999 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,581 |
| 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 septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Iowa earn under $57,980 and half over. The published range runs $40,650 at the tenth percentile to $72,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $47,175 take-home in Iowa comes from $57,980. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 245 of 493.
- Two cautions on $53,145, the adjusted value of that $57,980 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Iowa. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 245 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,650 to $72,660; 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.
- Retained pay of $47,175, from $57,980, assumes a single Iowa filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 245 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 49 for it.
- This $53,145 adjusted figure, worked from $57,980, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 245 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 245 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $40,650 at the tenth percentile, $72,660 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 $53,145.
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 $47,175 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 49 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 ($40,650 to $72,660) 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 $53,145 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 $47,175 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.