Social Science Research Assistants in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,131
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$6,809
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,451
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
$40,940
Kept after tax
$34,131
Worth in national money
$38,451
State rank
44
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for social science research assistants is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $40,940. That is 44 of 45 states, and about 33.96% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 493 occupations Iowa publishes, social science research assistants lands at 402. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $40,940 you keep $34,131, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,451 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $40,040, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For social science research assistants, Iowa sits in the lower band at $40,940, ranking 44 of 45 and trailing the national median by about 33.96%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Iowa, this work ranks 402 of 493 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for social science research assistants on $40,940 is $34,131. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,451 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $40,040 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,470 |
| This salary | $40,940 |
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 | $34,131 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,075 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,356 |
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 | $39,765 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,849 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $40,940 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $22,260 and the ninetieth is $58,470 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $34,131, worked from $40,940. 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 402 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,451, the adjusted value of that $40,940 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 402 of 493 in the state.
- The Iowa median of $40,940 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $22,260 to $58,470. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Iowa take-home of $34,131, on $40,940 for work ranking 402 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 402 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $38,451 — the adjusted value of that $40,940 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 402 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $22,260 and the top tenth $58,470 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Iowa is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $38,451 in national terms.
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 $34,131 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 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($22,260) and the ninetieth ($58,470) 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 $38,451 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 $34,131 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.