2026 Take-Home Pay Index

Name: PayGuess 2026 Take-Home Pay Index
Creator: PayGuess
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How much of a typical paycheck people actually keep, for 150 common jobs in all 50 states and DC. We take the official median wage for each job and state from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and run it through the same 2026 tax engine as our paycheck calculator.

Try your own numbers · Download the data (CSV)

Last checked October 16, 2026 · How we calculate

Key findings

For a typical worker (the state median wage for all jobs), take-home pay is highest in District of Columbia at $67,401 a year and lowest in Mississippi at $33,535.
On the same pay everywhere (the national median of $50,980 a year), taxes alone move take-home from $43,143 in the 8 states where nothing is withheld for the state at that pay (Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming, North Dakota) to $39,508 in Oregon, a gap of $3,636 a year.
At each state’s median wage, workers keep between 73.6% (District of Columbia) and 85.0% (South Dakota) of gross pay after federal, FICA, state income tax and state payroll deductions.
Of the 150 occupations (counting only states with at least 1,000 workers in the job), securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents show the widest take-home gap between states: $115,746 in New York vs $38,539 in Mississippi.
Among states with large samples, registered nurses take home the most in California ($95,471 at the median) and the least in Alabama ($59,851).
BLS publishes a median for 7,617 of the 7,650 occupation-and-state pairs. 33 are suppressed or not published and 0 are top-coded (median at or above BLS’s reporting limit); we leave those blank rather than estimate them.

Take-home by state

Typical worker = the state’s median wage across all jobs. “Same pay” shows every state at the national median of $50,980, so only taxes differ. Tap a column heading to sort.


Alabama	$45,670	$37,003	81.0%	$41,031
Alaska	$61,000	$50,893	83.4%	$42,889
Florida	$47,880	$40,653	84.9%	$43,143
Nevada	$47,660	$40,469	84.9%	$43,143
New Hampshire	$55,880	$47,088	84.3%	$43,143
South Dakota	$47,080	$40,001	85.0%	$43,143
Tennessee	$47,380	$40,252	85.0%	$43,143
Texas	$48,620	$41,255	84.8%	$43,143
Washington	$62,990	$51,913	82.4%	$42,436
Wyoming	$50,270	$42,575	84.7%	$43,143
Arizona	$50,060	$41,407	82.7%	$42,124
Arkansas	$43,630	$36,118	82.8%	$41,744
California	$58,240	$46,363	79.6%	$41,104
Colorado	$59,800	$47,576	79.6%	$40,918
Connecticut	$59,690	$47,544	79.6%	$41,040
Delaware	$52,190	$41,685	79.9%	$40,787
District of Columbia	$91,540	$67,401	73.6%	$40,499
Georgia	$48,170	$39,232	81.4%	$41,348
Hawaii	$56,320	$44,402	78.8%	$40,530
Idaho	$47,970	$39,056	81.4%	$41,271
Illinois	$51,960	$41,501	79.9%	$40,764
Indiana	$47,860	$39,254	82.0%	$41,669
Iowa	$48,540	$39,877	82.1%	$41,740
Kansas	$48,010	$38,874	81.0%	$41,098
Kentucky	$46,920	$38,360	81.7%	$41,477
Louisiana	$45,520	$37,755	82.9%	$41,966
Maine	$51,430	$41,278	80.2%	$40,913
Maryland	$59,510	$47,483	79.8%	$41,035
Massachusetts	$63,590	$50,120	78.8%	$40,680
Michigan	$49,270	$39,929	81.0%	$41,228
Minnesota	$56,920	$44,949	79.0%	$40,616
Mississippi	$40,120	$33,535	83.6%	$41,843
Missouri	$47,800	$39,286	82.2%	$41,687
Montana	$48,740	$39,778	81.6%	$41,479
Nebraska	$48,980	$39,908	81.5%	$41,423
New Jersey	$58,570	$46,882	80.0%	$41,309
New Mexico	$47,210	$38,686	81.9%	$41,534
New York	$59,670	$47,235	79.2%	$40,756
North Carolina	$47,970	$39,264	81.9%	$41,583
North Dakota	$52,480	$44,347	84.5%	$43,143
Ohio	$49,380	$40,761	82.5%	$42,000
Oklahoma	$45,600	$37,307	81.8%	$41,375
Oregon	$57,000	$43,832	76.9%	$39,508
Pennsylvania	$49,690	$40,581	81.7%	$41,578
Rhode Island	$56,780	$45,090	79.4%	$40,709
South Carolina	$46,490	$37,979	81.7%	$41,346
Utah	$50,110	$40,205	80.2%	$40,855
Vermont	$56,390	$45,911	81.4%	$41,747
Virginia	$55,690	$44,548	80.0%	$41,026
West Virginia	$45,300	$37,335	82.4%	$41,658
Wisconsin	$50,270	$40,388	80.3%	$40,914

Take-home by job

National median wage, the middle state’s take-home at that job’s state median, and where it is highest and lowest. Highest and lowest only count states where BLS estimates at least 1,000 people in the job with an employment error of 25% or less, so tiny, noisy samples don’t top the list. Jobs with fewer than 10 such states are left out of this table but kept in the CSV.


Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$35,800	$29,501	Washington $39,874	Louisiana $19,862	51
Retail Salespersons	$35,410	$28,986	Washington $33,419	West Virginia $24,750	51
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$31,200	$25,462	California $34,698	Mississippi $20,073	51
General and Operations Managers	$105,770	$78,213	New Jersey $118,753	Arkansas $58,672	51
Registered Nurses	$97,550	$70,728	California $95,471	Alabama $59,851	51
Cashiers	$32,880	$26,180	Washington $32,762	West Virginia $22,714	51
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$40,240	$33,704	North Dakota $38,898	Louisiana $29,881	51
Stockers and Order Fillers	$37,330	$30,898	Washington $37,409	Alabama $28,349	51
Customer Service Representatives	$44,770	$36,592	Washington $41,927	Mississippi $30,683	51
Office Clerks, General	$45,010	$36,662	Alaska $43,619	Alabama $26,019	51
Waiters and Waitresses	$35,230	$28,360	Hawaii $48,775	Louisiana $13,858	51
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	$36,840	$30,390	Washington $38,132	Mississippi $24,558	51
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$58,640	$47,425	Alaska $57,792	West Virginia $40,517	50
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	$47,540	$38,511	Washington $47,446	Mississippi $31,399	51
Software Developers	$135,980	$93,591	Washington $122,790	Mississippi $72,824	50
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	$49,590	$40,645	Alaska $50,296	West Virginia $32,424	51
Accountants and Auditors	$83,680	$61,980	District of Columbia $79,763	Arkansas $53,511	51
Nursing Assistants	$42,260	$33,858	Washington $41,023	Louisiana $26,153	51
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	$69,500	$52,925	Washington $63,640	West Virginia $43,701	51
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary	$36,780	$30,215	Washington $40,967	Alabama $20,533	51
Cooks, Restaurant	$37,390	$31,007	Washington $39,135	Louisiana $25,028	51
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$44,650	$36,789	Nevada $41,589	Arkansas $31,014	48
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	$63,970	$51,314	Washington $79,414	Oklahoma $39,297	51
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	$50,670	$40,434	District of Columbia $50,970	West Virginia $35,498	51
Security Guards	$38,020	$32,029	District of Columbia $50,267	West Virginia $24,638	50
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel	$69,990	$50,915	New York $68,878	Mississippi $39,908	47
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products	$72,080	$54,290	Washington $63,884	Arkansas $44,917	49
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	$44,080	$34,837	Washington $49,088	West Virginia $27,929	51
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	$48,520	$39,205	Washington $50,156	Arkansas $31,001	51
Construction Laborers	$47,120	$39,165	Hawaii $58,355	Alabama $30,336	51
Project Management Specialists	$102,320	$75,014	Washington $94,404	Hawaii $58,912	51
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$72,040	$53,275	Washington $79,634	Oklahoma $39,680	51
Light Truck Drivers	$44,860	$36,688	Alaska $47,854	Arkansas $31,093	50
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	$45,930	$37,441	Washington $48,053	Alabama $30,368	49
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers	$39,150	$32,672	Alaska $40,264	Mississippi $27,081	50
Human Resources Specialists	$75,940	$56,270	District of Columbia $79,416	Arkansas $44,837	51
Receptionists and Information Clerks	$38,010	$31,156	District of Columbia $39,086	Mississippi $26,696	51
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	$78,760	$55,831	Massachusetts $75,218	West Virginia $42,703	48
Management Analysts	$101,860	$73,498	Massachusetts $96,312	Mississippi $55,617	47
Food Preparation Workers	$35,320	$29,009	Washington $34,487	Louisiana $20,736	50
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	$35,510	$28,969	Hawaii $40,984	Mississippi $22,230	51
Financial Managers	$166,570	$104,049	New York $147,294	Mississippi $83,445	50
Medical Assistants	$45,690	$37,146	Washington $48,989	Alabama $29,720	50
Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks	$45,260	$36,779	Washington $42,912	Alabama $31,884	47
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	$79,920	$62,374	Washington $84,395	Arkansas $49,604	51
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators	$46,420	$38,439	New Mexico $49,984	West Virginia $34,560	43
Electricians	$63,190	$52,609	Washington $74,498	Arkansas $40,280	51
Bartenders	$34,340	$25,849	Hawaii $57,979	South Carolina $17,293	51
Lawyers	$159,670	$96,133	New York $140,058	Mississippi $70,419	50
Computer User Support Specialists	$61,860	$48,480	District of Columbia $60,852	Arkansas $38,206	49
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics	$50,620	$41,374	California $51,208	West Virginia $31,478	50
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	$74,450	$58,171	Wyoming $72,424	Arkansas $51,022	50
Computer and Information Systems Managers	$175,140	$116,486	Washington $151,468	Mississippi $91,947	47
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers	$76,210	$59,225	California $83,251	Mississippi $38,157	51
Carpenters	$60,580	$48,088	Hawaii $63,480	Oklahoma $38,307	50
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	$64,400	$51,422	Washington $66,178	Mississippi $41,225	47
Cooks, Fast Food	$30,890	$25,339	District of Columbia $35,845	Mississippi $20,125	34
Sales Managers	$148,270	$98,785	New York $146,072	West Virginia $72,088	42
First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	$62,890	$50,664	Washington $60,039	West Virginia $42,750	49
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$64,370	$50,944	Washington $79,269	Oklahoma $39,464	51
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$79,860	$62,246	Alaska $77,362	Mississippi $56,634	50
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	$48,570	$40,386	Washington $53,046	Alabama $32,705	45
Medical and Health Services Managers	$123,860	$86,626	New York $113,171	Arkansas $72,188	50
Packers and Packagers, Hand	$36,280	$29,770	Kansas $36,230	Louisiana $23,967	46
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers	$33,980	$25,314	Hawaii $40,697	Alabama $19,283	47
Substitute Teachers, Short-Term	$41,670	$31,800	Alaska $55,569	Mississippi $19,850	45
Computer Systems Analysts	$105,850	$77,439	Washington $97,927	Idaho $58,696	45
Childcare Workers	$34,980	$26,395	Washington $35,094	Alabama $19,477	49
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors	$59,350	$47,550	Alaska $65,245	Louisiana $31,857	49
Buyers and Purchasing Agents	$77,710	$59,487	District of Columbia $87,488	Montana $50,450	47
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents	$78,660	$57,166	New York $115,746	Mississippi $38,539	41
Insurance Sales Agents	$62,280	$49,545	New Jersey $62,249	New Mexico $37,144	47
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	$38,140	$30,708	District of Columbia $48,748	Alabama $23,827	47
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	$59,850	$48,956	Hawaii $82,666	Arkansas $36,802	49
Dishwashers	$34,810	$26,714	Washington $33,830	West Virginia $22,780	50
Pharmacy Technicians	$45,750	$37,059	Washington $48,694	West Virginia $31,895	46
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	$63,800	$51,751	Alaska $74,428	Arkansas $39,960	50
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants	$76,590	$55,831	New Jersey $67,177	Arkansas $42,222	45
Training and Development Specialists	$69,280	$52,686	Delaware $66,278	Arkansas $42,748	42
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	$37,450	$31,266	Washington $41,401	Louisiana $22,220	51
Industrial Machinery Mechanics	$64,520	$52,202	Wyoming $63,937	Mississippi $47,031	45
Social and Human Service Assistants	$45,930	$36,303	District of Columbia $46,767	Alabama $29,530	48
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop	$31,200	$24,887	Hawaii $37,689	Louisiana $19,500	46
Compliance Officers	$80,730	$60,975	District of Columbia $79,455	Oklahoma $50,515	47
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	$53,750	$44,982	Wyoming $53,472	Alabama $39,135	46
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers	$61,010	$48,901	Washington $61,014	Alabama $39,057	46
Driver/Sales Workers	$38,770	$31,600	Iowa $38,778	South Carolina $19,580	42
Billing and Posting Clerks	$48,500	$38,708	Washington $46,460	Alabama $32,326	44
Bus Drivers, School	$47,920	$38,261	Washington $52,225	Alabama $15,526	47
Counter and Rental Clerks	$41,300	$32,548	New Hampshire $40,151	Alabama $29,026	44
Amusement and Recreation Attendants	$32,150	$25,573	Hawaii $32,484	Oklahoma $19,298	45
Marketing Managers	$166,790	$108,751	Massachusetts $144,921	Nebraska $82,189	38
Paralegals and Legal Assistants	$62,890	$49,743	District of Columbia $66,294	Mississippi $38,190	46
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	$59,550	$47,527	Connecticut $60,277	Arkansas $35,878	46
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks	$59,650	$47,295	New Hampshire $51,667	New Mexico $40,512	40
Dental Assistants	$48,070	$39,231	Minnesota $51,062	Utah $30,971	45
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$58,940	$44,797	New Jersey $70,453	Mississippi $32,467	45
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment	$35,830	$29,819	Washington $33,814	Louisiana $23,885	46
Construction Managers	$114,990	$83,441	Washington $115,101	Arkansas $66,850	44
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	$43,220	$35,068	Missouri $39,504	New Mexico $29,898	41
Civil Engineers	$100,840	$75,100	Alaska $88,971	Georgia $64,638	48
Industrial Engineers	$102,440	$75,888	Washington $97,677	Wisconsin $72,237	40
Financial and Investment Analysts	$102,740	$74,551	New York $91,328	Louisiana $60,124	36
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors	$64,330	$50,335	Washington $65,834	Oklahoma $42,176	47
Firefighters	$59,280	$47,765	New York $74,498	Louisiana $28,162	44
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	$62,930	$49,828	New York $72,140	Idaho $38,638	45
Self-Enrichment Teachers	$46,800	$36,190	New Hampshire $50,296	Iowa $30,021	42
Recreation Workers	$36,560	$29,081	Washington $37,623	Alabama $23,875	41
Tellers	$43,030	$33,767	Washington $39,825	West Virginia $29,085	47
Postal Service Mail Carriers	$60,550	$48,424	Nevada $52,051	Oregon $45,569	44
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	$105,870	$78,749	Washington $122,819	West Virginia $62,762	46
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	$78,000	$59,692	New Jersey $71,038	Montana $51,200	39
Nurse Practitioners	$132,300	$95,779	Washington $115,798	Alabama $78,898	46
Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors	$47,160	$36,887	Massachusetts $50,898	Mississippi $26,246	43
Pharmacists	$140,910	$101,435	Washington $118,819	Rhode Island $92,253	46
Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$99,130	$71,979	Maryland $86,712	West Virginia $58,707	43
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	$69,990	$50,979	Washington $91,123	Arkansas $39,275	43
Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists	$35,790	$29,021	Washington $49,170	Louisiana $22,632	41
Mechanical Engineers	$104,110	$76,900	New Mexico $112,266	Arkansas $62,759	38
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	$35,360	$28,501	Washington $32,877	Louisiana $23,571	42
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists	$61,770	$49,173	Washington $62,549	West Virginia $38,332	45
Machinists	$58,750	$47,156	Washington $54,426	West Virginia $38,902	39
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	$104,920	$78,661	Colorado $97,255	Oklahoma $57,121	36
Public Relations Specialists	$74,750	$53,298	District of Columbia $74,335	Pennsylvania $46,577	43
Loan Officers	$76,690	$59,467	Massachusetts $75,083	West Virginia $46,677	46
Parts Salespersons	$38,630	$34,178	North Dakota $41,238	Louisiana $26,763	44
Physical Therapists	$102,760	$75,523	Nevada $87,086	Montana $69,322	45
Animal Caretakers	$35,360	$27,203	Washington $34,224	Mississippi $23,462	45
Personal Financial Advisors	$105,070	$74,787	New York $114,556	Kentucky $53,847	34
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse	$35,660	$29,698	Illinois $33,283	Georgia $25,767	25
Administrative Services Managers	$114,130	$80,326	Colorado $111,218	West Virginia $65,507	36
Data Scientists	$120,230	$79,609	Washington $120,659	Louisiana $62,195	38
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks	$35,070	$28,453	Hawaii $46,417	West Virginia $23,079	45
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	$65,120	$52,262	Washington $74,372	Oklahoma $41,119	41
Logisticians	$82,320	$62,218	Washington $82,789	Nebraska $52,343	37
Coaches and Scouts	$47,320	$38,011	New Jersey $59,161	Kentucky $29,633	39
Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs	$37,290	$29,572	Washington $37,443	Mississippi $23,393	41
Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers	$45,850	$37,113	Washington $43,619	Alabama $31,299	36
Industrial Production Managers	$126,060	$91,123	New Hampshire $111,466	Idaho $79,514	38
Food Service Managers	$69,390	$53,940	Washington $74,483	West Virginia $44,571	40
Bakers	$37,160	$30,241	Washington $38,609	Mississippi $25,011	40
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians	$80,110	$61,251	California $84,659	Mississippi $48,164	41
Instructional Coordinators	$77,440	$60,820	District of Columbia $76,342	Rhode Island $49,863	40
Painters, Construction and Maintenance	$49,400	$40,248	Hawaii $52,826	Rhode Island $33,625	40
Cost Estimators	$78,740	$61,293	Massachusetts $74,584	Arkansas $49,781	40
Dental Hygienists	$98,100	$71,992	Washington $99,098	Alabama $48,772	39
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	$107,310	$78,688	Utah $118,647	West Virginia $48,752	37
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$107,230	$79,082	Washington $102,663	Mississippi $66,472	36
Human Resources Managers	$149,280	$101,329	Massachusetts $125,901	Arkansas $81,396	38
Architectural and Engineering Managers	$171,270	$118,779	New Mexico $148,692	Wisconsin $101,167	37

See pages for popular jobs in large states: take-home pay by job and state.

Methods

Built from public government data. We never collect what you type. This index uses only published BLS wage estimates and public tax rules, never anything a visitor enters.

Wages: median wage by state and occupation from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, May 2025 estimates, cross-industry, all ownerships (BLS OEWS tables; state file oesm25st.zip, national file oesm25nat.zip). Jobs are the 150 largest detailed occupations by U.S. employment, leaving out catch-all “All Other” groups.
Pay: full-time, 2,080 hours a year. For hourly jobs we use the median hourly wage × 40 hours, paid weekly. For jobs BLS reports only as an annual salary (such as teachers), we use the annual median paid every two weeks.
Taxes: 2026 rules from the PayGuess engine: federal withholding (IRS Pub 15-T, single, standard 2020+ W-4, no other adjustments), Social Security and Medicare, state income tax withholding with each state’s default form choices, and state payroll deductions for workers (disability, paid leave, transit, unemployment) as our calculator applies them by default. No local taxes, no pre-tax benefits, no overtime or bonuses.
Withholding is not the final tax bill. These are paycheck amounts. Refunds and credits at filing time are not included.
Blank cells: BLS suppresses some estimates (marked * in its files) when they don’t meet its quality or confidentiality standards, and top-codes medians at its reporting limit (marked #). We leave those blank and never fill them in. Counts are in the findings above.
2025 wages, 2026 taxes: May 2025 wages are the latest BLS publishes. We do not adjust them for raises since then.

Download and reuse

payguess-take-home-pay-index-2026.csv (7,701 rows, one per job and state, including blank cells with their BLS status). Free to use under CC BY 4.0: please credit PayGuess and link to this page.

Cite as: PayGuess. “2026 Take-Home Pay Index.” payguess.com/take-home-pay-index, October 16, 2026. Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Take-Home Pay Index?

It shows the estimated take-home pay at the median wage for 150 common jobs in every state, after 2026 federal, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax and state payroll withholding.

Where do the wages come from?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates, which are the latest available.

Can I use the data?

Yes. The CSV is free under CC BY 4.0. Please credit PayGuess and link to the index page.

Estimates of what an employer would withhold under the published 2026 rules. Not tax advice, and not your final tax bill.

What we count: page views, clicks, and clicks on outside links such as job searches, as totals only, to improve PayGuess. We never store your pay, job, location, or any personal information. Details