Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,187
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$6,213
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,260
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
$38,400
Kept after tax
$32,187
Worth in national money
$36,260
State rank
20
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 20 of 46 states for this job, with a middle wage of $38,400. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Iowa this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 424. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,400 you keep $32,187 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,260 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,010, since top earners drag the number up.
- Iowa ranks 20 of 46 for switchboard operators, including answering service at $38,400. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Iowa reports, switchboard operators, including answering service ranks 424 of 493, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $32,187 after the full tax stack, from $38,400. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,260 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,010 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,570 |
| This salary | $38,400 |
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 | $32,187 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,034 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,265 |
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 | $37,345 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,740 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,400 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,060 and the ninetieth is $45,570 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $32,187, from $38,400, 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 424 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,260, the adjusted value of that $38,400 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 424 of 493 in the state.
- The Iowa median of $38,400 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,060 to $45,570. 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 $32,187 from $38,400. 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 424 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $36,260 — the adjusted value of that $38,400 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 424 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $40,010, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,060 at the bottom tenth to $45,570 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 $36,260 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 $32,187.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $40,010. 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 ($30,060 to $45,570) 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 $36,260 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 $32,187 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.