Amusement and Recreation Attendants in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,422
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$4,578
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$24,654
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$28,000
Kept after tax
$23,422
Worth in national money
$24,654
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Utah pays this job a middle wage of $28,000, 36 of 51 states and about 12.91% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Utah this is lower-paid work. Of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 484. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Utah does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,000 you keep $23,422, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $24,654 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $29,800, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Utah's $28,000 median for amusement and recreation attendants places it 36 of 51 states, about 12.91% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Utah reports, amusement and recreation attendants ranks 484 of 487, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Utah income tax, retained pay for amusement and recreation attendants on $28,000 is $23,422. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $24,654 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $29,800 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Amusement and Recreation Attendants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $19,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,230 |
| This salary | $28,000 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Utah | $23,422 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,668 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$731 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $26,487 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$862 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of amusement and recreation attendants in Utah earn under $28,000 and half over. The published range runs $19,830 at the tenth percentile to $44,230 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $23,422, worked from $28,000. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 484 of 487.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $24,654 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 484.
- Figures are distribution medians for amusement and recreation attendants in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $19,830 to $44,230; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Utah take-home of $23,422, on $28,000 for work ranking 484 of 487 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 484 of 487 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $24,654, worked from $28,000, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Utah address, on work sitting at 484 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $29,800, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $19,830, the highest tenth $44,230, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $24,654 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Utah's own levy, $23,422 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Utah is $29,800. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($19,830) and the ninetieth ($44,230) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $24,654 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $23,422 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.