Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,339
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$23,651
24.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$80,403
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$95,990
Kept after tax
$72,339
Worth in national money
$80,403
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $95,990, ranking 35 of 51 states — about 3.31% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 60 out of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $95,990 you keep $72,339 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $80,403 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $110,110, since top earners drag the number up.
- Alabama ranks 35 of 51 for architects, except landscape and naval, with a median of $95,990 — about 3.31% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Within Alabama, architects, except landscape and naval ranks 60 of 482 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $72,339 after the full tax stack, from $95,990. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $80,403 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $110,110 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $174,870 |
| This salary | $95,990 |
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 Alabama | $72,339 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,359 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,824 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $90,276 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,520 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $95,990 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $62,980 and the ninetieth is $174,870 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $72,339 take-home in Alabama comes from $95,990. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 60 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $80,403 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 60.
- The Alabama median of $95,990 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $62,980 to $174,870. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $72,339, from $95,990, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 60 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 35 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $80,403, worked from $95,990, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 60 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $110,110, 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 $62,980, the highest tenth $174,870, 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. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $80,403 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $72,339.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Alabama is $110,110. 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 ($62,980) and the ninetieth ($174,870) 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?
Alabama'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 $80,403 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 $72,339 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.