Brickmasons and Blockmasons in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$54,955
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$14,095
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,814
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
$69,050
Kept after tax
$54,955
Worth in national money
$48,814
State rank
17
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California sits in the middle of the pack for brickmasons and blockmasons. The median is $69,050, ranking 17 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 247.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $69,050 the take-home is $54,955; in national-average money that behaves like $48,814. The average comes to $73,120, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- California occupies the middle band for brickmasons and blockmasons: a median of $69,050, ranking 17 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In California's occupational distribution, brickmasons and blockmasons sits at 247 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 brickmasons and blockmasons in California, on $69,050, is $54,955; deflated by the state's price level, $48,814. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $73,120 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Brickmasons and Blockmasons
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $69,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,200 |
| This salary | $69,050 |
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 | $54,955 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $57,407 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,262 |
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 | $65,682 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$12,728 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $69,050. The published range is $49,440 up to $108,200, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $54,955, from $69,050, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 247 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $48,814, the adjusted value of that $69,050 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 247 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for brickmasons and blockmasons in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,440 to $108,200. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $54,955 from $69,050. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 247 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $48,814 — the adjusted value of that $69,050 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 247 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 $73,120, 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 $49,440 at the bottom tenth to $108,200 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 $48,814 of national purchasing power.
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 California's own levy, $54,955 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $73,120. 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 ($49,440) and the ninetieth ($108,200) 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 $48,814 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 $54,955 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.