Childcare Workers in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,187
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$5,443
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,565
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$31,630
Kept after tax
$26,187
Worth in national money
$27,565
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for childcare workers. The median is $31,630, ranking 26 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Utah, this one sits low: 473 of 487 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Utah does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $31,630 you keep $26,187, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,565 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $32,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Utah occupies the middle band for childcare workers: a median of $31,630, ranking 26 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Childcare workers occupies position 473 of 487 in Utah'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 Utah income tax, retained pay for childcare workers on $31,630 is $26,187. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,565 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 $32,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Childcare Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,630 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,440 |
| This salary | $31,630 |
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 Utah | $26,187 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,595 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$832 |
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 | $29,878 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,006 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $31,630 as a midpoint for Utah, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,040 and the ninetieth is $43,440 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $26,187, worked from $31,630. 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 473 of 487.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $27,565 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 473.
- The Utah median of $31,630 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,040 to $43,440. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Utah take-home of $26,187, on $31,630 for work ranking 473 of 487 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 473 of 487 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,565, worked from $31,630, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 473 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $32,710, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $23,040 at the bottom tenth to $43,440 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,565 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 Utah's own levy, $26,187 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 Utah is $32,710. 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 ($23,040 to $43,440) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $27,565 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 $26,187 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.