Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,918
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$25,112
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,459
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$97,030
Kept after tax
$71,918
Worth in national money
$72,459
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Delaware sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $97,030, ranking 29 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 445 occupations Delaware reports, this job comes in at 90 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $97,030 the take-home is $71,918, which is worth about $72,459 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $108,290, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Delaware occupies the middle band for architects, except landscape and naval: a median of $97,030, ranking 29 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Architects, except landscape and naval ranks 90 of 445 occupations by median in Delaware, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Delaware's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for architects, except landscape and naval on its $97,030 median: $71,918 retained after tax becomes $72,459 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $108,290 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $76,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $146,490 |
| This salary | $97,030 |
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 Delaware | $71,918 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,091 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,873 |
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 | $89,677 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,494 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $97,030 as a midpoint for Delaware, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $76,780 and the ninetieth is $146,490 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $71,918 take-home in Delaware comes from $97,030. 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 90 of 445.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,459 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 90.
- The Delaware median of $97,030 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $76,780 to $146,490. 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 $71,918, from $97,030, assumes a single Delaware 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 90 of 445 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,459, worked from $97,030, 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 Delaware address, on work sitting at 90 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $108,290, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $76,780 at the bottom tenth to $146,490 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Delaware sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $72,459 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Delaware then takes its own share, leaving $71,918.
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 Delaware is $108,290. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($76,780 to $146,490) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $72,459 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 $71,918 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.