Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,140
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$18,460
23.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,938
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$78,600
Kept after tax
$60,140
Worth in national money
$61,938
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $78,600, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 20.83% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Maine reports figures for, this is number 128.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $78,600 the take-home is $60,140, which is worth about $61,938 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $86,550, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maine ranks 49 of 51 for architects, except landscape and naval, with a median of $78,600 — about 20.83% 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.
- In Maine's occupational distribution, architects, except landscape and naval sits at 128 of 484 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for architects, except landscape and naval on its $78,600 median: $60,140 retained after tax becomes $61,938 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $86,550 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 | $51,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $123,790 |
| This salary | $78,600 |
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 Maine | $60,140 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,125 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,052 |
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 | $72,935 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,597 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $78,600. The published range is $51,920 up to $123,790, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maine's $60,140, worked from $78,600. 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 128 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $61,938 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 128.
- Reported values are medians; for architects, except landscape and naval in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,920 to $123,790. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maine take-home of $60,140, on $78,600 for work ranking 128 of 484 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 128 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,938, worked from $78,600, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 128 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $86,550 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $51,920 at the bottom tenth to $123,790 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $61,938.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $60,140 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Maine is $86,550. 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 ($51,920) and the ninetieth ($123,790) 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?
Maine'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 $61,938 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 $60,140 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.