Computer Systems Analysts in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$90,777
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$36,943
28.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$80,632
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$127,720
Kept after tax
$90,777
Worth in national money
$80,632
State rank
5
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays computer systems analysts a middle wage of $127,720, ranking 5 of 50 states and sitting about 20.66% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, computer systems analysts comes in at 71 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $127,720, tax leaves $90,777 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $80,632 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $130,480, since top earners drag the number up.
- California's median for computer systems analysts is $127,720, about 20.66% above the national figure and 5 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Computer systems analysts ranks 71 of 492 occupations by median in California, 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.
- After tax, $90,777 remains from the California median of $127,720 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $80,632 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $130,480 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Computer Systems Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $79,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $127,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $181,770 |
| This salary | $127,720 |
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 California | $90,777 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $98,563 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$20,796 |
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 | $116,484 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$28,893 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $127,720. The published range is $79,110 up to $181,770, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $90,777, worked from $127,720. 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 71 of 492.
- Two cautions on $80,632, the adjusted value of that $127,720 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. 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 71 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for computer systems analysts in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $79,110 to $181,770. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $90,777, on $127,720 for work ranking 71 of 492 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 71 of 492 in the state.
- This $80,632 adjusted figure, worked from $127,720, 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 71 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 71 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $79,110, the highest tenth $181,770, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $80,632 of national purchasing power.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $90,777 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 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 ($79,110) and the ninetieth ($181,770) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $80,632 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 $90,777 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.