Cost Estimators in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,827
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$18,563
22.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,014
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$81,390
Kept after tax
$62,827
Worth in national money
$65,014
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Vermont is one of the better-paying states for cost estimators. The middle earner takes $81,390, which ranks 11 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 3.37% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 453 occupations Vermont reports, cost estimators comes in at 110 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $81,390 you keep $62,827 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $65,014 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $85,430, since top earners drag the number up.
- Vermont ranks 11 of 51 states publishing a median for cost estimators, at $81,390 — about 3.37% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Cost estimators ranks 110 of 453 occupations by median in Vermont, 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.
- Retained pay in Vermont is $62,827 after the full tax stack, from $81,390. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $65,014 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $85,430 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Cost Estimators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $56,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $81,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $113,230 |
| This salary | $81,390 |
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 Vermont | $62,827 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $66,088 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,995 |
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 | $76,754 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,137 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Vermont earn less than $81,390. The published range is $56,600 up to $113,230, 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 Vermont's $62,827, worked from $81,390. 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 110 of 453.
- One number stands for prices across all of Vermont, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $65,014, the adjusted value of that $81,390 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 110 of 453 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cost estimators in Vermont the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $56,600 to $113,230. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Vermont take-home of $62,827, on $81,390 for work ranking 110 of 453 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 110 of 453 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Vermont, so $65,014 — the adjusted value of that $81,390 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 110 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $85,430, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $56,600 at the tenth percentile, $113,230 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Vermont is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $65,014 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 Vermont adds its own income tax on top — which is why $62,827 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Vermont is $85,430. 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 ($56,600 to $113,230) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $65,014 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 $62,827 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.