Audio and Video Technicians in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,005
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$12,615
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,193
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$64,620
Kept after tax
$52,005
Worth in national money
$46,193
State rank
6
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for audio and video technicians. The middle earner takes $64,620, which ranks 6 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 11.22% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 263.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $64,620 the take-home is $52,005; in national-average money that behaves like $46,193. The average comes to $73,150, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- California ranks 6 of 49 states publishing a median for audio and video technicians, at $64,620 — about 11.22% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In California's occupational distribution, audio and video technicians sits at 263 of 492 — 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.
- Take-home for audio and video technicians in California, on $64,620, is $52,005; deflated by the state's price level, $46,193. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $73,150 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Audio and Video Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $120,690 |
| This salary | $64,620 |
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 California | $52,005 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,102 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,482 |
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 | $62,010 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,467 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 audio and video technicians in California earn under $64,620 and half over. The published range runs $39,950 at the tenth percentile to $120,690 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 California's $52,005, worked from $64,620. 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 263 of 492.
- Two cautions on $46,193, the adjusted value of that $64,620 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 263 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for audio and video technicians in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,950 to $120,690; 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 California take-home of $52,005, on $64,620 for work ranking 263 of 492 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 263 of 492 in the state.
- This $46,193 adjusted figure, worked from $64,620, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 263 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 263 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $73,150, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $39,950 at the bottom tenth to $120,690 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $46,193 of national purchasing power.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $52,005 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 California is $73,150. 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 ($39,950) and the ninetieth ($120,690) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $46,193 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $52,005 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.