Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,147
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$4,363
14.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,456
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
$30,510
Kept after tax
$26,147
Worth in national money
$29,456
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Iowa pays this job a middle wage of $30,510, 37 of 51 states and about 17.05% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Against 493 occupations Iowa publishes, this job lands at 474. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $30,510 you keep $26,147 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $29,456 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $31,160, since top earners drag the number up.
- Iowa's $30,510 median for teaching assistants, except postsecondary places it 37 of 51 states, about 17.05% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Within Iowa, this work ranks 474 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.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $26,147 after the full tax stack, from $30,510. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $29,456 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $31,160 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,520 |
| This salary | $30,510 |
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 | $26,147 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,695 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,985 |
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 | $29,829 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,401 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $30,510 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $22,400 and the ninetieth is $37,520 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $26,147, from $30,510, 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 474 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 $29,456, the adjusted value of that $30,510 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 474 of 493 in the state.
- The Iowa median of $30,510 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $22,400 to $37,520. 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 $26,147 from $30,510. 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 474 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $29,456 — the adjusted value of that $30,510 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 474 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $22,400 and the top tenth $37,520, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $29,456 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 $26,147.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,400 to $37,520) 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 $29,456 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 $26,147 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.