Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,814
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$10,296
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,190
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$55,110
Kept after tax
$44,814
Worth in national money
$44,190
State rank
8
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Rhode Island pays this job a middle wage of $55,110, ranking 8 of 47 states and sitting about 16.41% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 452 occupations Rhode Island reports figures for, this is number 286.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $55,110, take-home of $44,814 is worth roughly $44,190 in national money. The average comes to $68,800, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island's median for broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys is $55,110, about 16.41% above the national figure and 8 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Rhode Island's occupational distribution, broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys sits at 286 of 452 — 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.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys, whose median is $55,110, the adjusted figure of $44,190 differs little from $44,814 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $68,800 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,790 |
| This salary | $55,110 |
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 Rhode Island | $44,814 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,461 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,621 |
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 | $53,061 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,380 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $55,110. The published range is $31,200 up to $131,790, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $44,814 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $55,110. 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 286 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,190 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 286.
- Reported values are medians; for broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $131,790. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $44,814, from $55,110, assumes a single Rhode Island 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 286 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,190, worked from $55,110, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 286 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $68,800, 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 $31,200 at the bottom tenth to $131,790 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 $44,190 of national purchasing power.
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; Rhode Island then takes its own share, leaving $44,814.
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 47 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 Rhode Island is $68,800. 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 ($31,200) and the ninetieth ($131,790) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $44,190 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 $44,814 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.