Budget Analysts in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,453
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$17,077
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,824
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$80,530
Kept after tax
$63,453
Worth in national money
$71,824
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for budget analysts. The middle earner takes $80,530, ranking 43 of 51 states — about 12.12% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 484 occupations Louisiana reports, budget analysts comes in at 84 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $80,530 the take-home is $63,453; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $71,824 would nationally. The average comes to $84,680, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Louisiana ranks 43 of 51 for budget analysts, with a median of $80,530 — about 12.12% 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.
- Budget analysts ranks 84 of 484 occupations by median in Louisiana, 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.
- Post-tax income for budget analysts in Louisiana, on $80,530, is $63,453 — equivalent to $71,824 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $84,680 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Budget Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $53,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $122,660 |
| This salary | $80,530 |
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 Louisiana | $63,453 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,483 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,438 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $77,645 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,130 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 budget analysts in Louisiana earn under $80,530 and half over. The published range runs $53,560 at the tenth percentile to $122,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $63,453 take-home in Louisiana comes from $80,530. 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 84 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,824 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. 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 84.
- Figures are distribution medians for budget analysts in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $53,560 to $122,660; 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.
- Retained pay of $63,453, from $80,530, assumes a single Louisiana 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 84 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,824, worked from $80,530, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 84 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 $84,680 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $53,560, the highest tenth $122,660, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $71,824 in national terms.
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 Louisiana's own levy, $63,453 remains.
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 Louisiana is $84,680. 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 ($53,560) and the ninetieth ($122,660) 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?
Louisiana'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 $71,824 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 $63,453 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.