Surveying and Mapping Technicians in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,918
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$11,032
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,982
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
$58,950
Kept after tax
$47,918
Worth in national money
$53,982
State rank
13
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa is one of the better-paying states for surveying and mapping technicians. The middle earner takes $58,950, which ranks 13 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 8.68% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Surveying and mapping technicians ranks 232 among 493 occupations Iowa publishes pay for.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,950 you keep $47,918, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,982 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $58,860, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Iowa ranks 13 of 50 states publishing a median for surveying and mapping technicians, at $58,950 — about 8.68% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 232 of 493 in Iowa places surveying and mapping technicians in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for surveying and mapping technicians on $58,950 is $47,918. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,982 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 $58,860 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Surveying and Mapping Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,530 |
| This salary | $58,950 |
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 | $47,918 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,546 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,995 |
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 | $56,923 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,622 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,950 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,840 and the ninetieth is $77,530 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $47,918 take-home in Iowa comes from $58,950. 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 232 of 493.
- Two cautions on $53,982, the adjusted value of that $58,950 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 232 of 493 locally.
- The Iowa median of $58,950 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,840 to $77,530. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $47,918, from $58,950, 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 232 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 13 of 50 for it.
- This $53,982 adjusted figure, worked from $58,950, 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 232 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 232 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,840 at the tenth percentile, $77,530 at the ninetieth.
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 $53,982 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 $47,918 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,840 to $77,530) 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 $53,982 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 $47,918 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.