Childcare Workers in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,190
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$6,160
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,092
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$36,350
Kept after tax
$30,190
Worth in national money
$31,092
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for childcare workers is strong here. Maine's middle earner gets $36,350, putting the state 14 of 51 — about 3.92% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Maine, this one sits low: 470 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $36,350, tax leaves $30,190, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $31,092 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $37,280, since top earners drag the number up.
- For childcare workers, Maine sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $36,350, ranking 14 of 51 and running about 3.92% 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 470 of 484 in Maine'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.
- Because Maine sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for childcare workers — median $36,350 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $30,190 retained, $31,092 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $37,280 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Childcare Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,350 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,020 |
| This salary | $36,350 |
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 Maine | $30,190 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,387 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,208 |
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 | $34,859 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,460 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $36,350. The published range is $31,200 up to $46,020, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maine's $30,190, worked from $36,350. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 470 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,092 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 470.
- Reported values are medians; for childcare workers in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $46,020. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maine take-home of $30,190, on $36,350 for work ranking 470 of 484 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 470 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,092, worked from $36,350, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 470 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,200 and the top tenth $46,020, so most people doing this work in Maine sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $31,092 in national terms.
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; Maine then takes its own share, leaving $30,190.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $46,020) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $31,092 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 $30,190 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.