Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,257
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$8,073
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,099
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
$46,330
Kept after tax
$38,257
Worth in national money
$43,099
State rank
45
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Iowa. The middle earner gets $46,330. That is 45 of 47 states, and about 21.01% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 353 among 493 occupations Iowa publishes pay for.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,330 you keep $38,257, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,099 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $45,540, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For title examiners, abstractors, and searchers, Iowa sits in the lower band at $46,330, ranking 45 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 21.01%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 353 of 493 in Iowa places title examiners, abstractors, and searchers 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 title examiners, abstractors, and searchers on $46,330 is $38,257. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,099 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 $45,540 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,620 |
| This salary | $46,330 |
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 | $38,257 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,406 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,547 |
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 | $44,900 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,080 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,330 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,440 and the ninetieth is $60,620 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $38,257 take-home in Iowa comes from $46,330. 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 353 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,099 uses one figure for the whole of Iowa. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 353.
- The Iowa median of $46,330 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,440 to $60,620. 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 $38,257, from $46,330, 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 353 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,099, worked from $46,330, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Iowa address, on work sitting at 353 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,440 at the bottom tenth to $60,620 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $43,099.
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 $38,257.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,440 to $60,620) 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 $43,099 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 $38,257 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.