Cashiers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,706
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$4,544
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,349
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$28,250
Kept after tax
$23,706
Worth in national money
$26,349
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for cashiers. The middle earner takes $28,250, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 14.08% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Alabama, this one sits low: 456 of 482 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,250 you keep $23,706, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $26,349 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $27,830, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Alabama ranks 46 of 51 for cashiers, with a median of $28,250 — about 14.08% 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.
- Cashiers occupies position 456 of 482 in Alabama's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for cashiers on $28,250 is $23,706. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $26,349 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 $27,830 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cashiers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $34,950 |
| This salary | $28,250 |
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 Alabama | $23,706 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,874 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$752 |
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 | $26,832 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$903 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $28,250. The published range is $21,300 up to $34,950, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $23,706 take-home in Alabama comes from $28,250. 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 456 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $26,349 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 456.
- Reported values are medians; for cashiers in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $21,300 to $34,950. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $23,706, from $28,250, assumes a single Alabama 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 456 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $26,349, worked from $28,250, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 456 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $21,300 and the top tenth $34,950, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $26,349 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 Alabama's own levy, $23,706 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,300 to $34,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $26,349 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 $23,706 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.