Correctional Officers and Jailers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,390
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$6,460
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,795
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
$39,850
Kept after tax
$33,390
Worth in national money
$37,795
State rank
48
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Louisiana. The middle earner gets $39,850. That is 48 of 49 states, and about 32.39% 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 349.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $39,850 the take-home is $33,390; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $37,795 would nationally. The average comes to $42,830, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For correctional officers and jailers, Louisiana sits in the lower band at $39,850, ranking 48 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 32.39%. 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, correctional officers and jailers sits at 349 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.
- Post-tax income for correctional officers and jailers in Louisiana, on $39,850, is $33,390 — equivalent to $37,795 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $42,830 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Correctional Officers and Jailers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $55,260 |
| This salary | $39,850 |
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 | $33,390 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,199 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,602 |
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 | $38,843 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,146 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $39,850 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,770 and the ninetieth is $55,260 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $33,390 take-home in Louisiana comes from $39,850. 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 349 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,795 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 349.
- The Louisiana median of $39,850 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,770 to $55,260. 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 $33,390, from $39,850, 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 349 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,795, worked from $39,850, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 349 of 484 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 $42,830, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,770 at the bottom tenth to $55,260 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $37,795 in national terms.
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 Louisiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $33,390 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 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 Louisiana is $42,830. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,770 to $55,260) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
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 $37,795 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 $33,390 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.