Iowa UI Average Benefit Cost Rate and Average Tax Rate Based on Total Wages
This dataset computes the Benefit Cost Rate and Average Tax Rate based on total wages. UI benefits and contributions are divided by total wages in order to control for employment and wage growth. For example, the highest benefit payout was $1,163 million in 2020. However, 2020 was the third highest payout when controlled for wage growth. Both 1982 and 1983 had higher Benefit Cost Rates.
The highest Benefit Cost Rate was 2.63% in 1982. The highest Average Tax Rate based on total wages was 1.89% in 1985. The lowest Benefit Cost Rate was 0.35% in 2023. The lowest Average Tax Rate based on total wages was 0.49% in 1988. (Time period: 1980-2025).
Current year total wage data may be preliminary data. Final total wage data is usually available by September of the following year.
This data includes Regular Unemployment Insurance benefits based on contributory employers. It does not include data: from reimbursable employers, government employers and nonprofit employers that elect to reimburse the trust for benefits paid to their employees rather than pay UI taxes. Dataset also excludes: Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), Unemployment Compensation for Exservicemembers (UCX), and temporary extensions such as Extended Benefits (EB) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).
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Complete Metadata
| @type | dcat:Dataset |
|---|---|
| accessLevel | public |
| contactPoint |
{ "fn": "Iowa Data Hub Administrators", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:data@iowa.gov" } |
| description | This dataset computes the Benefit Cost Rate and Average Tax Rate based on total wages. UI benefits and contributions are divided by total wages in order to control for employment and wage growth. For example, the highest benefit payout was $1,163 million in 2020. However, 2020 was the third highest payout when controlled for wage growth. Both 1982 and 1983 had higher Benefit Cost Rates. The highest Benefit Cost Rate was 2.63% in 1982. The highest Average Tax Rate based on total wages was 1.89% in 1985. The lowest Benefit Cost Rate was 0.35% in 2023. The lowest Average Tax Rate based on total wages was 0.49% in 1988. (Time period: 1980-2025). Current year total wage data may be preliminary data. Final total wage data is usually available by September of the following year. This data includes Regular Unemployment Insurance benefits based on contributory employers. It does not include data: from reimbursable employers, government employers and nonprofit employers that elect to reimburse the trust for benefits paid to their employees rather than pay UI taxes. Dataset also excludes: Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), Unemployment Compensation for Exservicemembers (UCX), and temporary extensions such as Extended Benefits (EB) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). |
| distribution |
[ { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "mediaType": "application/json", "describedBy": "https://idh-be.iowa.gov/api/v1/datasets/751/columns.json", "downloadURL": "https://idh-be.iowa.gov/api/v1/datasets/751/rows.json", "describedByType": "application/json" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "mediaType": "text/csv", "downloadURL": "https://idh-be.iowa.gov/api/v1/datasets/751/rows.csv" } ] |
| identifier | https://data.iowa.gov/catalog/dataset/751 |
| issued | 2025-08-25T21:21:09.331729+00:00 |
| keyword |
[ "ui tax rate", "unemployment insurance" ] |
| landingPage | https://data.iowa.gov/catalog/dataset/751 |
| license | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| modified | 2026-07-14T16:01:18.778874+00:00 |
| publisher |
{ "name": "Unemployment Insurance", "@type": "org:Organization", "subOrganizationOf": { "name": "Workforce Development", "@type": "org:Organization" } } |
| theme |
[ "State Government" ] |
| title | Iowa UI Average Benefit Cost Rate and Average Tax Rate Based on Total Wages |
