How are Iowa Software Engineer salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

What does the top of the Software Engineer pay scale look like in Iowa?

The 90th percentile lands at $169,200. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $134,260.

Why is the BEA RPP for Iowa different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Iowa's overall index of 88.8 reflects rents 66.0, services 87.3, and goods 96.6.

Where does Iowa rank for Software Engineer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Iowa ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Does the BLS software engineer wage include FAANG total comp in Iowa?

No — BLS OES captures W-2 base wages only. RSU vesting, sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, and equity refreshes are not included. For senior tech-cluster roles in Iowa, total comp can run 30-70% above the BLS-reported median once equity is added back. The Levels.fyi-style breakdowns on the parent occupation page show the gap.

Contractor vs W-2 software engineer in Iowa — which pays more?

Hourly contractor rates in Iowa typically run 25-50% above the salaried equivalent on a gross-hourly basis. The real comparison nets out self-employment tax (~15.3%), self-paid health insurance, lack of paid leave, and 401(k) match. Net-of-overhead, the gap narrows to roughly 10-20% in most Iowa markets.

Software Engineer Pay in Iowa: $110K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

BLS reports Iowa Software Engineer median pay at $109,850. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $123,748.
Wage envelope: $70,650 (P10) to $169,200 (P90), with quartiles at $89,300 and $134,260.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $13,898.
Software Engineer ranking: #35 on the BLS table, #28 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Iowa

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$70,650	$79,589
P25 (lower quartile)	$89,300	$100,598
P50 (median)	$109,850	$123,748
P75 (upper quartile)	$134,260	$151,246
P90 (top tier)	$169,200	$190,607
Mean	$116,000	$130,676
Employment	9,840 Software Engineers in Iowa

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Iowa index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.8
Goods	96.6
Services	87.3
Rents	66.0

Iowa sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 66.0.

After-tax take-home — Iowa (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Software Engineer)	$109,850	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$15,414	14.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,576	3.8% flat (2026, SF 2417 fully phased)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$8,404	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$82,457	75.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$92,889	÷ (88.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Iowa state-tax burden means for Software Engineer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $82,457 (75.1% of gross). After the 88.8 RPP, real take-home is $92,889.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $133,080 for Software Engineers with mean pay of $144,570 and total employment of 1,654,440. Iowa sits at #35 on nominal pay and #28 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Iowa climbs 7 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Iowa Software Engineer salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
What does the top of the Software Engineer pay scale look like in Iowa?: The 90th percentile lands at $169,200. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $134,260.
Why is the BEA RPP for Iowa different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Iowa's overall index of 88.8 reflects rents 66.0, services 87.3, and goods 96.6.
Where does Iowa rank for Software Engineer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Iowa ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Does the BLS software engineer wage include FAANG total comp in Iowa?: No — BLS OES captures W-2 base wages only. RSU vesting, sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, and equity refreshes are not included. For senior tech-cluster roles in Iowa, total comp can run 30-70% above the BLS-reported median once equity is added back. The Levels.fyi-style breakdowns on the parent occupation page show the gap.
Contractor vs W-2 software engineer in Iowa — which pays more?: Hourly contractor rates in Iowa typically run 25-50% above the salaried equivalent on a gross-hourly basis. The real comparison nets out self-employment tax (~15.3%), self-paid health insurance, lack of paid leave, and 401(k) match. Net-of-overhead, the gap narrows to roughly 10-20% in most Iowa markets.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-1252, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Iowa Software Engineer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.