Counter and Rental Clerks in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,409
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$7,601
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,229
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
$45,010
Kept after tax
$37,409
Worth in national money
$33,229
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for counter and rental clerks. The middle earner takes $45,010, which ranks 12 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 8.98% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in California, this one sits low: 430 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $45,010, tax leaves $37,409 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $33,229 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $49,330, since top earners drag the number up.
- California ranks 12 of 51 states publishing a median for counter and rental clerks, at $45,010 — about 8.98% 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.
- Counter and rental clerks occupies position 430 of 492 in California's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $37,409 remains from the California median of $45,010 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $33,229 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $49,330 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Counter and Rental Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,800 |
| This salary | $45,010 |
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 | $37,409 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,346 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,231 |
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 | $43,845 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,536 |
| 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 $45,010. The published range is $35,790 up to $69,800, 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 $37,409, worked from $45,010. 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 430 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,229, the adjusted value of that $45,010 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 430 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for counter and rental clerks in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,790 to $69,800. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $37,409, on $45,010 for work ranking 430 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 430 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $33,229 — the adjusted value of that $45,010 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 430 of 492 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 $49,330, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $35,790 and the top tenth $69,800 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $33,229 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; California then takes its own share, leaving $37,409.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 California is $49,330. 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 ($35,790) and the ninetieth ($69,800) 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 $33,229 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 $37,409 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.
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.