Clergy in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,444
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$9,696
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,307
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$54,140
Kept after tax
$44,444
Worth in national money
$50,307
State rank
45
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for clergy is on the low side in Louisiana. The middle earner gets $54,140. That is 45 of 50 states, and about 10.97% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Louisiana reports figures for, this is number 230.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $54,140 you keep $44,444, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,307 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $54,690, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For clergy, Louisiana sits in the lower band at $54,140, ranking 45 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 10.97%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Louisiana's occupational distribution, clergy sits at 230 of 484 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for clergy on $54,140 is $44,444. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,307 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 $54,690 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Clergy
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,490 |
| This salary | $54,140 |
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 Louisiana | $44,444 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,681 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,297 |
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 | $52,599 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,988 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $54,140 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,270 and the ninetieth is $75,490 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $44,444 take-home in Louisiana comes from $54,140. 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 230 of 484.
- Two cautions on $50,307, the adjusted value of that $54,140 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Louisiana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 230 of 484 locally.
- The Louisiana median of $54,140 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,270 to $75,490. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $44,444, from $54,140, assumes a single Louisiana 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 230 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 50 for it.
- This $50,307 adjusted figure, worked from $54,140, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 230 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 230 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $31,270 at the bottom tenth to $75,490 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Louisiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $50,307 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $44,444.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($31,270) and the ninetieth ($75,490) 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?
Louisiana'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 $50,307 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 $44,444 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.