Childcare Workers in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,668
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$4,492
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,076
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$30,160
Kept after tax
$25,668
Worth in national money
$28,076
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Idaho is 32 of 51 states for childcare workers, with a middle wage of $30,160. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Idaho this is lower-paid work. Of 476 occupations the state publishes figures for, childcare workers ranks 466. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $30,160 you keep $25,668, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $28,076 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $31,600, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Idaho ranks 32 of 51 for childcare workers at $30,160. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Idaho reports, childcare workers ranks 466 of 476, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for childcare workers on $30,160 is $25,668. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $28,076 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 $31,600 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 | $17,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,150 |
| This salary | $30,160 |
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 Idaho | $25,668 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,414 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$894 |
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 | $29,233 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,082 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Idaho earn less than $30,160. The published range is $17,550 up to $42,150, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $25,668 take-home in Idaho comes from $30,160. 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 466 of 476.
- One number stands for prices across all of Idaho, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,076, the adjusted value of that $30,160 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 466 of 476 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for childcare workers in Idaho the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $17,550 to $42,150. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $25,668, from $30,160, assumes a single Idaho 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 466 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Idaho, so $28,076 — the adjusted value of that $30,160 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 466 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $31,600, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $17,550 at the bottom tenth to $42,150 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $28,076.
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 Idaho's own levy, $25,668 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.
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 Idaho is $31,600. 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 ($17,550) and the ninetieth ($42,150) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $28,076 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 $25,668 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.