Computer Programmers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$68,830
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$20,350
22.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,595
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$89,180
Kept after tax
$68,830
Worth in national money
$70,595
State rank
33
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Pennsylvania pays computer programmers a middle wage of $89,180, 33 of 46 states and about 11.17% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports, computer programmers comes in at 92 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $89,180, take-home of $68,830 is worth roughly $70,595 in national money. The average comes to $95,820, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania's $89,180 median for computer programmers places it 33 of 46 states, about 11.17% 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.
- Computer programmers ranks 92 of 492 occupations by median in Pennsylvania, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for computer programmers, whose median is $89,180, the adjusted figure of $70,595 differs little from $68,830 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $95,820 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $89,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $134,710 |
| This salary | $89,180 |
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 Pennsylvania | $68,830 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $71,568 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,054 |
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 | $85,288 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,218 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $89,180. The published range is $60,070 up to $134,710, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $68,830 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $89,180. 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 92 of 492.
- Two cautions on $70,595, the adjusted value of that $89,180 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. 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 92 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for computer programmers in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,070 to $134,710. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $68,830, from $89,180, assumes a single Pennsylvania 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 92 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 46 for it.
- This $70,595 adjusted figure, worked from $89,180, 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 92 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 92 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $95,820, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $60,070 at the bottom tenth to $134,710 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $70,595.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $68,830 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 Pennsylvania is $95,820. 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 ($60,070) and the ninetieth ($134,710) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $70,595 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 $68,830 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.