Iowa · BLS May 2025

Cashier Salary in Iowa

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 41,450 cashiers working in Iowa. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · Iowa

$28,970A year, or $13.93 an hour.
Take-home a month$2,084After federal, state and FICA tax at 13.7%
Worth at national prices$33,010Prices here sit at 87.8 against 100
Against the nation11.9% belowNational median $32,880
What cashiers earn in Iowa, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$22,930$11.03
25th percentile$27,570$13.25
MedianHalf earn more, half less$28,970$13.93
75th percentile$34,750$16.71
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$36,560$17.58
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$30,200$14.52
How we got this
  1. Median wage in IowaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of cashiers earned more than this, half less.$28,970
  2. Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$13.93
  3. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$2,084 a month at an effective rate of 13.7%.$25,008 a year
  4. Worth at national average pricesPrices in Iowa sit at 87.8 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$33,010
  5. Against the national medianThe national median is $32,880.11.9% below
  6. Jobs countedA concentration of 1.34 against the nation's 1.00.41,450
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
  • Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
  • Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1

What lands in the bank

A $28,970 salary in Iowa, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $1,296 a year.
  • State income tax. $449 a year.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $2,216 a year.
  • Left over. $25,008 a year, $2,084 a month, an effective rate of 13.7%.

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What $28,970 is worth in Iowa

Prices in Iowa sit at 87.8 against a national average of 100, so $28,970 earned here buys what $33,010 buys at national average prices.

  • Rents. 65.3 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
  • Against local households. The median household in Iowa takes in $75,059, so this occupation's median is 0.39 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 34% more concentrated in Iowa than in the country as a whole.

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Common questions

Cashier pay in Iowa, answered

How much does a cashier make in Iowa?

The median wage for cashiers in Iowa is $28,970 a year, or $13.93 an hour.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What is the take-home pay for a cashier in Iowa?

On the median wage of $28,970, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $25,008 a year, or roughly $2,084 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 13.7%.

Iowa takes $449 of it in state income tax.

Do cashiers earn more in Iowa than in the rest of the country?

No. The median in Iowa is 11.9% below the national median of $32,880.

Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Iowa sit at 87.8 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.

Is $28,970 a good salary in Iowa?

It is 0.39 times the median household income of $75,059. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.

Prices in Iowa run at 87.8 against a national average of 100, with rents at 65.3, so $28,970 here buys about what $33,010 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid cashiers earn in Iowa?

The top tenth earn $36,560 a year or more, against $22,930 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Iowa someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many cashiers are there in Iowa?

The survey counted 41,450 of these jobs in Iowa for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 34% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from