Social worker pay in Iowa after taxes: what you keep (2026)

The median social worker in Iowa earned $50,710 a year in May 2024, which is $24 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 3,450 social workers the BLS counts in Iowa earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $44,950 and $68,360. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Iowa's tax, and Iowa has a flat 3.8% state income tax.

What the median social worker keeps in Iowa

For a single filer on the median $50,710, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 3.8% of gross at this salary. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Iowa ranks for social worker pay

Of the 50 states, Iowa ranks 34 of 50 on the gross median for social workers. The highest-paying state is Connecticut at $78,940 and the lowest is Arkansas at $42,960. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.

Across the border

The same job in the states next to Iowa, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and South Dakota leave a social worker with more at the end of the year than Iowa does; Minnesota by about $8,609. Missouri and Nebraska pay less once tax is counted. Pay is one line; rent is the other, and a higher median in a metro with higher rent can leave you with less.

Where the social worker jobs are in Iowa

The BLS count of 3,450 social workers is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Iowa City, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($68,360 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Iowa openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

Iowa also has a program that pay people to move in: Newton Housing Initiative (up to $10,000 toward a newly built home, for anyone building or buying a new home in Newton; a construction incentive rather than a hiring one). Each has a residence condition and a funding round; the amount is the program's own "up to" figure.

What people get wrong about social worker pay in Iowa

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Iowa is $27 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($24) is what the typical social worker makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $50,710 offer in Iowa is $40,803 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $42,730.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $48,710 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $53,710 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Des Moines pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Iowa, on one page

The Iowa page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in Iowa this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Iowa employers hiring from out of state.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Social worker. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.