Social Workers, All Other in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$70,115
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$21,055
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,988
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
$91,170
Kept after tax
$70,115
Worth in national money
$78,988
State rank
16
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for social workers, all other is strong here. Iowa's middle earner gets $91,170, putting the state 16 of 50 — about 26.8% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Iowa this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, social workers, all other ranks 69 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $91,170 you keep $70,115 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $78,988 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $88,940.
- For social workers, all other, Iowa sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $91,170, ranking 16 of 50 and running about 26.8% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Iowa publishes a median for, social workers, all other sits 69 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $70,115 after the full tax stack, from $91,170. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $78,988 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $88,940 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Social Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $91,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $113,800 |
| This salary | $91,170 |
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 | $70,115 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $72,968 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,899 |
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 | $87,115 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,385 |
| 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 social workers, all other in Iowa earn under $91,170 and half over. The published range runs $47,310 at the tenth percentile to $113,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $70,115, from $91,170, 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 69 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $78,988, the adjusted value of that $91,170 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 69 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for social workers, all other in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,310 to $113,800; 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 $70,115 from $91,170. 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 69 of 493 locally.
- This $78,988 adjusted figure, worked from $91,170, 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 69 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 69 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 $47,310 and the top tenth $113,800 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $78,988.
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 $70,115.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($47,310) and the ninetieth ($113,800) 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 $78,988 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 $70,115 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.