Software Developers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$85,901
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$28,989
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$96,771
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
$114,890
Kept after tax
$85,901
Worth in national money
$96,771
State rank
40
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is among the lower-paying states for software developers. The middle earner takes $114,890, ranking 40 of 50 states — about 15.51% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Iowa this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, software developers ranks 27 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $114,890 you keep $85,901 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $96,771 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $118,780, since top earners drag the number up.
- Iowa ranks 40 of 50 for software developers, with a median of $114,890 — about 15.51% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Iowa publishes a median for, software developers sits 27 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 $85,901 after the full tax stack, from $114,890. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $96,771 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $118,780 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Software Developers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $74,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $114,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $165,880 |
| This salary | $114,890 |
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 | $85,901 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $89,655 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,510 |
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 | $109,554 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,230 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $114,890 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $74,390 and the ninetieth is $165,880 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $85,901, from $114,890, 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 27 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $96,771, the adjusted value of that $114,890 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 27 of 493 locally.
- The Iowa median of $114,890 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $74,390 to $165,880. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $85,901 from $114,890. 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 27 of 493 locally.
- This $96,771 adjusted figure, worked from $114,890, 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 27 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 27 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $118,780 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $74,390 and the top tenth $165,880 — 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 $96,771 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 $85,901 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 50 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 $118,780. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($74,390) and the ninetieth ($165,880) 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 $96,771 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 $85,901 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.