- The middle half earn between $21.21 and $30.01 an hour.
- Iowa ranks 18th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Iowa pays more than 3 of its 6 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 16,500 handymen on payrolls in Iowa.
- At the state median wage, a handyman business needs to bill about $114.63 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Handyman pay in Iowa, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for handymen. These are its numbers for general maintenance and repair workers, the closest group: people who keep buildings and equipment in repair using the skills of two or more trades. Real estate, schools and government are among the top industries BLS lists for them.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.58 | $36,570 | $17.00 |
| 25th percentile | $21.21 | $44,110 | $19.64 |
| Median | $25.08 | $52,160 | $23.84 |
| 75th percentile | $30.01 | $62,430 | $30.10 |
| 90th percentile | $35.81 | $74,490 | $37.11 |
| Average (mean) | $26.03 | $54,140 | $25.86 |
From the bottom tenth ($17.58) to the top tenth ($35.81), the top of the scale pays about 2 times the bottom in Iowa, close to the 2.2 times spread for handymen nationwide.
The floor is higher than nationally ($17.58 against $17.00) but the ceiling is lower ($35.81 against $37.11), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $26.03, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Iowa compares with other states
Over a full year, the Iowa median of $52,160 is $2,570 more than the national $49,590.
In the state ranking, Iowa sits 18th, between Nevada ($25.17) and Maryland ($24.76). The range runs from $18.70 in West Virginia to $29.00 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, Iowa is in the middle: Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin pay more, and Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Iowa. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many handymen work in Iowa
About 16,500 handymen work on payrolls in Iowa, 1.1% of the 1,529,700 nationwide, the 29th largest count among the states.
That is 10.6 of every 1,000 jobs in Iowa, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a handyman business in Iowa should charge
Higher wages in Iowa go straight into the price. Take a handyman business in Iowa paying the state median of $25.08 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its 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 | $25.08 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $56,157 |
| Break-even rate | ($56,157 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $97.44 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $97.44 ÷ 0.85 | $114.63 |
That is $114.63 per billable hour, 4.6 times the wage, and $2.18 more than the $112.46 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $30.01 in Iowa, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $123.29.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $21.21, the rate only drops to $107.84.
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 a handyman in Iowa
- Licensing. What Iowa asks for before you can work on your own: Handyman license in Iowa.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how handyman businesses 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 49-9071, maintenance and repair workers, general, 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: handyman salary by state.