Cargo and Freight Agents in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,913
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$9,027
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,316
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$47,940
Kept after tax
$38,913
Worth in national money
$41,316
State rank
42
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan is among the lower-paying states for cargo and freight agents. The middle earner takes $47,940, ranking 42 of 48 states — about 8.27% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Michigan reports figures for, this is number 322.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $47,940 you keep $38,913 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $41,316 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $52,280, since top earners drag the number up.
- Michigan ranks 42 of 48 for cargo and freight agents, with a median of $47,940 — about 8.27% 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.
- In Michigan's occupational distribution, cargo and freight agents sits at 322 of 493 — 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.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $38,913 after the full tax stack, from $47,940. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $41,316 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $52,280 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Cargo and Freight Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,950 |
| This salary | $47,940 |
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 Michigan | $38,913 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,700 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$567 |
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 | $45,716 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$686 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Michigan earn less than $47,940. The published range is $38,950 up to $71,950, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $38,913, from $47,940, 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 322 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,316, the adjusted value of that $47,940 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 322 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cargo and freight agents in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,950 to $71,950. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Michigan is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,913 from $47,940. 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 322 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $41,316 — the adjusted value of that $47,940 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 322 of 493 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 $52,280 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,950 at the bottom tenth to $71,950 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $41,316.
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 Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $38,913 of this wage survives to your account.
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 48 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 Michigan is $52,280. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,950 to $71,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $41,316 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 $38,913 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.