Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,100
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$9,900
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,532
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$51,000
Kept after tax
$41,100
Worth in national money
$39,532
State rank
29
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $51,000, ranking 29 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Maryland, this sits in the middle: 326 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $51,000 the take-home is $41,100. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $39,532 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $55,590, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland occupies the middle band for community and social service specialists, all other: a median of $51,000, ranking 29 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Community and social service specialists, all other ranks 326 of 489 occupations in Maryland by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $41,100 for community and social service specialists, all other, from $51,000. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,532. ⚠️ 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 $55,590 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,840 |
| This salary | $51,000 |
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 Maryland | $41,100 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,159 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,881 |
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 | $48,438 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,903 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $51,000. The published range is $36,870 up to $80,840, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $41,100, from $51,000, 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 326 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,532 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 326.
- Reported values are medians; for community and social service specialists, all other in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,870 to $80,840. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $41,100 from $51,000. 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 326 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,532, worked from $51,000, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 326 of 489 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 $55,590, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $36,870, the highest tenth $80,840, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Maryland costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $39,532 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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $41,100.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Maryland is $55,590. 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 ($36,870) and the ninetieth ($80,840) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $39,532 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 $41,100 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.