Tool and Die Makers in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,549
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$12,451
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,199
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
$65,000
Kept after tax
$52,549
Worth in national money
$59,199
State rank
21
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Iowa sits in the middle of the pack for tool and die makers. The median is $65,000, ranking 21 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Iowa, this sits in the middle: 172 of 493 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $65,000 you keep $52,549 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $59,199 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $65,780, since top earners drag the number up.
- Iowa occupies the middle band for tool and die makers: a median of $65,000, ranking 21 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Tool and die makers ranks 172 of 493 occupations in Iowa by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $52,549 after the full tax stack, from $65,000. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $59,199 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $65,780 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Tool and Die Makers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,170 |
| This salary | $65,000 |
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 | $52,549 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,408 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,210 |
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 | $62,687 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,221 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Iowa earn less than $65,000. The published range is $51,540 up to $80,170, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $52,549, worked from $65,000. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 172 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $59,199, the adjusted value of that $65,000 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 172 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for tool and die makers in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,540 to $80,170. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Iowa take-home of $52,549, on $65,000 for work ranking 172 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 172 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $59,199 — the adjusted value of that $65,000 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 172 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $51,540 at the tenth percentile, $80,170 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 $59,199 in national terms.
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 $52,549.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,540 to $80,170) 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 $59,199 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 $52,549 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.