Veterinarians in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$92,314
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$32,296
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$103,995
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
$124,610
Kept after tax
$92,314
Worth in national money
$103,995
State rank
30
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Iowa pays veterinarians around $124,610 at the midpoint, 30 of 49 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Iowa. It ranks 19 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $124,610 you keep $92,314 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $103,995 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $122,200.
- For veterinarians the Iowa median is $124,610, ranking 30 of 49 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Iowa, veterinarians ranks 19 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Iowa is $92,314 after the full tax stack, from $124,610. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $103,995 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $122,200 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Veterinarians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $72,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $124,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $168,950 |
| This salary | $124,610 |
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 | $92,314 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $96,437 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,755 |
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 | $118,669 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,760 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $124,610 as a midpoint for Iowa, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $72,800 and the ninetieth is $168,950 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $92,314 take-home in Iowa comes from $124,610. 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 19 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $103,995, the adjusted value of that $124,610 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 19 of 493 in the state.
- The Iowa median of $124,610 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $72,800 to $168,950. 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 $92,314, from $124,610, 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 19 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 30 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $103,995 — the adjusted value of that $124,610 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 19 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $72,800, the highest tenth $168,950, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $103,995 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 $92,314.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($72,800) and the ninetieth ($168,950) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $103,995 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 $92,314 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.