Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,955
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$10,725
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,282
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
$58,680
Kept after tax
$47,955
Worth in national money
$54,282
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $58,680, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 5% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in Louisiana, this sits in the middle: 208 of 484 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,680 you keep $47,955, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,282 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $58,930, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana ranks 42 of 51 for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, with a median of $58,680 — about 5% 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.
- Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists ranks 208 of 484 occupations in Louisiana by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists on $58,680 is $47,955. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,282 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $58,930 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,160 |
| This salary | $58,680 |
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 | $47,955 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,329 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,518 |
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 | $56,970 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,255 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,680 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,900 and the ninetieth is $79,160 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Louisiana's $47,955, worked from $58,680. 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 208 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,282 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 208.
- The Louisiana median of $58,680 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,900 to $79,160. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Louisiana take-home of $47,955, on $58,680 for work ranking 208 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 208 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,282, worked from $58,680, 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 208 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,900 at the bottom tenth to $79,160 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $54,282 in national terms.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $47,955.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,900 to $79,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
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 $54,282 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 $47,955 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.