Childcare Workers in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,488
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$6,542
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,071
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$37,030
Kept after tax
$30,488
Worth in national money
$28,071
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for childcare workers is strong here. Hawaii's middle earner gets $37,030, putting the state 10 of 51 — about 5.86% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Hawaii, this one sits low: 419 of 437 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $37,030 the take-home is $30,488. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,071 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $38,210, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For childcare workers, Hawaii sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $37,030, ranking 10 of 51 and running about 5.86% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Childcare workers occupies position 419 of 437 in Hawaii'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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $30,488 for childcare workers, from $37,030. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,071. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $38,210 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Childcare Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,270 |
| This salary | $37,030 |
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 Hawaii | $30,488 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,934 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,791 |
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 | $35,230 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,794 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,030 as a midpoint for Hawaii, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,850 and the ninetieth is $47,270 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $30,488, from $37,030, 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 419 of 437 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,071 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 419.
- The Hawaii median of $37,030 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,850 to $47,270. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,488 from $37,030. 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 419 of 437 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,071, worked from $37,030, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 419 of 437 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 $38,210 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,850 and the top tenth $47,270, so most people doing this work in Hawaii sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Hawaii costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $28,071 rather than its face figure.
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; Hawaii then takes its own share, leaving $30,488.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Hawaii is $38,210. 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 ($30,850 to $47,270) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,071 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 $30,488 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.