Veterinary Technologists and Technicians in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,668
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$7,892
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,435
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
$45,560
Kept after tax
$37,668
Worth in national money
$42,435
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 31 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $45,560. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Iowa, this sits in the middle: 363 of 493 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,560 you keep $37,668, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,435 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $47,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 31 of 51 for veterinary technologists and technicians at $45,560. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Veterinary technologists and technicians ranks 363 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.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for veterinary technologists and technicians on $45,560 is $37,668. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,435 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 $47,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,860 |
| This salary | $45,560 |
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 | $37,668 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,787 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,520 |
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 | $44,167 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,047 |
| 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 veterinary technologists and technicians in Iowa earn under $45,560 and half over. The published range runs $36,290 at the tenth percentile to $63,860 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $37,668, worked from $45,560. 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 363 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,435, the adjusted value of that $45,560 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 363 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for veterinary technologists and technicians in Iowa, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,290 to $63,860; 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.
- The Iowa take-home of $37,668, on $45,560 for work ranking 363 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 363 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $42,435 — the adjusted value of that $45,560 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 363 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $47,010 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,290 and the top tenth $63,860, so most people doing this work in Iowa sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $42,435 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 $37,668.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $47,010. 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 ($36,290 to $63,860) 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 $42,435 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 $37,668 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.