Reference

Compare your job's pay across states.

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Every wage table tells you which state pays your job the most. Almost none of them then take out the tax, or ask what a dollar buys once you get there. We did both, for every job below. For most of them the answer changes — sometimes twice.

Published occupational wage comparisons stop at the nominal median. Applying federal, FICA and state income tax reorders the top-paying state for a substantial minority of occupations; deflating by regional price parity reorders it again, more often still. Each page below walks all three steps for tax year 2026, using BLS wage data, this site's own tax engine, and BEA regional price parities.

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Career and place finder

Compare what this job pays in each state, or try your own salary in every state. Pick a city when local tax applies. Save promising places to the shortlist below.Rank state occupational wages or a fixed personal salary by gross pay, modeled take-home or RPP-adjusted purchasing power. Local-tax selections are retained separately for each state.

Loading city and county taxes…Loading local income tax schedules before applying the selected jurisdiction.

Only selected local taxes are included. Check the coverage list if your city is missing. The estimate assumes you live and work in the same state, using the usual amount the tax rules let you subtract from income.Supported resident local taxes apply only where selected. The wage model uses standard deductions and excludes cross-state employment, itemized deductions, credits and pretax benefit contributions. Local tax coverage · Calculation method · Filing status explained

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The next tool keeps each place's pay, your filing status and selected city taxes. Published wages are a starting point. Replace them with a real offer when you have one.Handoffs use the selected wage basis and preserve state-specific localities and filing status. Published medians are not offer forecasts. Set each locality above and enter actual household costs in the destination tool.

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Registered Nurses: state comparison

StateGross / yearTake-home / yearBuying power / yearShortlist
Washington$124,200$96,157$88,573
Hawaii$136,320$95,503$87,933
California$140,270$98,187$87,215
Oregon$129,010$88,692$84,693
Alaska$109,480$85,849$84,402
Nevada$103,670$81,762$84,308
New Mexico$94,340$71,906$79,555
Texas$95,970$76,345$78,564
Wisconsin$95,530$71,819$77,144
Idaho$92,460$69,829$76,378
Minnesota$101,510$74,863$76,067
Arizona$99,500$76,743$75,905
Michigan$94,300$71,413$75,823
Vermont$97,460$73,071$75,616
Pennsylvania$96,430$73,708$75,598
Rhode Island$100,640$76,202$75,141
New Hampshire$99,700$78,969$74,962
New York$109,440$80,384$74,688
Colorado$100,260$75,660$74,629
Wyoming$83,760$67,755$74,581
Delaware$99,520$73,505$74,058
North Dakota$80,730$65,309$73,735
Connecticut$102,740$76,193$73,482
Georgia$93,550$70,573$72,982
New Jersey$106,500$79,159$72,701
Illinois$95,990$71,752$72,583
Montana$85,280$65,367$72,434
Oklahoma$82,920$63,933$72,416
South Dakota$78,060$63,745$72,360
Nebraska$84,730$65,286$72,238
Maryland$99,790$74,656$71,809
Louisiana$80,230$63,251$71,596
Massachusetts$104,550$77,473$71,577
Arkansas$78,940$61,902$71,557
Tennessee$81,500$66,165$71,518
Ohio$82,510$65,323$71,149
Indiana$83,500$65,139$70,661
Kentucky$81,040$63,123$69,774
Iowa$78,630$61,770$69,587
Virginia$93,600$70,056$69,535
West Virginia$80,130$62,421$69,532
North Carolina$84,350$65,313$69,380
Missouri$81,780$63,456$69,153
Mississippi$77,090$60,071$68,816
South Carolina$82,360$63,625$68,284
Utah$84,600$64,581$67,979
District of Columbia$102,540$75,219$67,885
Maine$86,990$65,450$67,407
Kansas$79,320$60,494$67,242
Alabama$77,080$59,773$66,437
Florida$84,190$68,058$65,787

A wage that is not published is unknown, not zero. It does not mean there are no jobs there. With your own salary selected, the tax estimate can still be calculated.Suppressed or unavailable state medians remain null and sort after known values. Personal salary mode can calculate those states without inventing an occupational wage.

Buying power uses a state price average. It is not money you receive. Rent, travel and family costs can be far above or below that average. A missing price index leaves this column unknown.Purchasing power is net pay divided by the all-items state RPP relative to its national base. It does not account for a specific metro, household spending mix or actual housing costs. Missing RPP is never replaced with the national average.

Sources: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, time-series bulk download (oe.data.0.Current) (2025-05-01); US Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by state (SARPP), 2023 (2023-12-31).

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    Tax and prices both move it

    86

    Prices alone move it

    179

    Headline state holds

    208

    The jobs the most people do

    Every occupation

    These jobs have at least ten thousand workers nationwide and a published median wage in at least forty-five states. Jobs below either threshold have no comparison page here.

    494 occupations