Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,230
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$7,560
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,812
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$45,790
Kept after tax
$38,230
Worth in national money
$37,812
State rank
45
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Arizona. The middle earner gets $45,790. That is 45 of 47 states, and about 21.11% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 491 occupations Arizona publishes, this job lands at 374. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $45,790, take-home of $38,230 is worth roughly $37,812 in national money. The average comes to $50,800, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For chemical equipment operators and tenders, Arizona sits in the lower band at $45,790, ranking 45 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 21.11%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Arizona, this work ranks 374 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for chemical equipment operators and tenders, whose median is $45,790, the adjusted figure of $37,812 differs little from $38,230 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $50,800 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,300 |
| This salary | $45,790 |
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 Arizona | $38,230 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,972 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,293 |
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 | $44,866 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,773 |
| 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 Arizona earn less than $45,790. The published range is $34,840 up to $75,300, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $38,230 take-home in Arizona comes from $45,790. 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 374 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,812 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 374.
- Reported values are medians; for chemical equipment operators and tenders in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $34,840 to $75,300. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $38,230, from $45,790, assumes a single Arizona 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 374 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,812, worked from $45,790, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 374 of 491 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 $50,800 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $34,840 at the bottom tenth to $75,300 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $37,812 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $38,230 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 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 Arizona is $50,800. 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 ($34,840) and the ninetieth ($75,300) 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?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $37,812 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 $38,230 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.