Slaughterers and Meat Packers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,336
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$7,484
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,934
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
$43,820
Kept after tax
$36,336
Worth in national money
$40,934
State rank
16
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa sits in the middle of the pack for slaughterers and meat packers. The median is $43,820, ranking 16 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Iowa, this one sits low: 384 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $43,820 you keep $36,336 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $40,934 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $42,130.
- Iowa occupies the middle band for slaughterers and meat packers: a median of $43,820, ranking 16 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Slaughterers and meat packers occupies position 384 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.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $36,336 after the full tax stack, from $43,820. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $40,934 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,130 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,060 |
| This salary | $43,820 |
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 | $36,336 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,389 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,458 |
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 | $42,509 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,972 |
| 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 slaughterers and meat packers in Iowa earn under $43,820 and half over. The published range runs $33,750 at the tenth percentile to $46,060 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $36,336, from $43,820, 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 384 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $40,934, the adjusted value of that $43,820 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 384 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for slaughterers and meat packers in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,750 to $46,060; 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 $36,336 from $43,820. 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 384 of 493 locally.
- This $40,934 adjusted figure, worked from $43,820, 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 384 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 384 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 $42,130, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,750 at the bottom tenth to $46,060 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $40,934 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 $36,336.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $42,130. 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 ($33,750 to $46,060) 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 $40,934 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 $36,336 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.