Computer Programmers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,612
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$19,378
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,851
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$88,990
Kept after tax
$69,612
Worth in national money
$68,851
State rank
35
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arizona pays computer programmers a middle wage of $88,990, 35 of 46 states and about 11.36% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, computer programmers ranks 93 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $88,990, take-home of $69,612 is worth roughly $68,851 in national money. The average comes to $102,710, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona's $88,990 median for computer programmers places it 35 of 46 states, about 11.36% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, computer programmers sits 93 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for computer programmers, whose median is $88,990, the adjusted figure of $68,851 differs little from $69,612 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $102,710 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $88,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $164,410 |
| This salary | $88,990 |
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 Arizona | $69,612 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $71,434 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,660 |
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 | $86,400 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,437 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $88,990 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $61,790 and the ninetieth is $164,410 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $69,612, from $88,990, 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 93 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $68,851, the adjusted value of that $88,990 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arizona. 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 93 of 491 locally.
- The Arizona median of $88,990 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $61,790 to $164,410. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $69,612 from $88,990. 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 93 of 491 locally.
- This $68,851 adjusted figure, worked from $88,990, 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 93 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 93 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $102,710 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $61,790 and the top tenth $164,410 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $68,851 rather than its face figure.
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 Arizona's own levy, $69,612 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Arizona is $102,710. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($61,790) and the ninetieth ($164,410) 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?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $68,851 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 $69,612 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.