- The middle half earn between $19.59 and $27.08 an hour.
- Iowa is 43rd of the 50 states with published figures, in the bottom ten for this trade.
- Iowa pays less than all 6 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 210 appliance technicians on payrolls in Iowa.
- At the state median wage, an appliance repair business needs to bill about $107.82 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Appliance Technician pay in Iowa, bottom to top
BLS files these as home appliance repairers: the techs who repair, adjust and install electric and gas household appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers and ovens.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $15.32 | $31,870 | $17.40 |
| 25th percentile | $19.59 | $40,740 | $21.05 |
| Median | $21.20 | $44,090 | $24.51 |
| 75th percentile | $27.08 | $56,320 | $30.47 |
| 90th percentile | $37.74 | $78,510 | $38.78 |
| Average (mean) | $23.50 | $48,880 | $26.94 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Iowa. The bottom tenth earn $15.32 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $37.74 or more, a gap of 2.5 times against 2.2 nationally. Where a appliance technician sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $2.08 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $1.04 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage, $23.50, sits 11% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical appliance technician makes.
How Iowa compares with other states
Over a full year, the Iowa median of $44,090 is $6,900 less than the national $50,990.
In the state ranking, Iowa sits 43rd, between Nebraska ($21.93) and Wyoming ($20.98). The range runs from $17.17 in West Virginia to $34.02 in Massachusetts.
Every one of the neighboring states pays appliance technicians more than Iowa. The closest is Nebraska at $21.93, and the biggest gap is with Minnesota.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
How many appliance technicians work in Iowa
About 210 appliance technicians work on payrolls in Iowa, 0.7% of the 32,150 nationwide, the 36th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.1 per 1,000 jobs, 0.65 times the national share.
What an appliance repair business in Iowa should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is an appliance repair business in Iowa paying the state median of $21.20, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $21.20 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $47,469 |
| Break-even rate | ($47,469 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $91.65 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $91.65 ÷ 0.85 | $107.82 |
That is $107.82 per billable hour, 5.1 times the wage, and $5.81 less than the $113.63 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $27.08 in Iowa, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $118.15.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $19.59, the rate only drops to $104.99.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an appliance technician in Iowa
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how appliance repair shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9031, home appliance repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: appliance technician salary by state.