Transportation Security Screeners in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,939
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$11,651
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,258
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
$61,590
Kept after tax
$49,939
Worth in national money
$56,258
State rank
37
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Iowa pays this job a middle wage of $61,590, 37 of 45 states and about 7.76% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 201 among 493 occupations Iowa publishes pay for.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,590 you keep $49,939, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $56,258 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $58,310, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Iowa's $61,590 median for transportation security screeners places it 37 of 45 states, about 7.76% 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.
- Position 201 of 493 in Iowa places transportation security screeners 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 transportation security screeners on $61,590 is $49,939. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $56,258 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 $58,310 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Transportation Security Screeners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,240 |
| This salary | $61,590 |
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 | $49,939 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,668 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,089 |
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 | $59,439 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,736 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of transportation security screeners in Iowa earn under $61,590 and half over. The published range runs $45,640 at the tenth percentile to $69,240 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Iowa the take-home figure of $49,939, from $61,590, 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 201 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $56,258 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 201.
- Figures are distribution medians for transportation security screeners in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,640 to $69,240; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Iowa is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,939 from $61,590. 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 201 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $56,258, worked from $61,590, 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 201 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $58,310, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $45,640 at the tenth percentile, $69,240 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 $56,258 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 $49,939.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 $58,310. 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 ($45,640 to $69,240) 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 $56,258 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 $49,939 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.