Counter and Rental Clerks in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,996
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$8,874
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,132
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$46,870
Kept after tax
$37,996
Worth in national money
$39,132
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maine pays counter and rental clerks a middle wage of $46,870, ranking 6 of 51 states and sitting about 13.49% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Maine, this one sits low: 371 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $46,870 the take-home is $37,996, which is worth about $39,132 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $47,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maine's median for counter and rental clerks is $46,870, about 13.49% above the national figure and 6 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Counter and rental clerks occupies position 371 of 484 in Maine'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.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for counter and rental clerks on its $46,870 median: $37,996 retained after tax becomes $39,132 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $47,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $34,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,610 |
| This salary | $46,870 |
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 Maine | $37,996 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,840 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,866 |
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 | $44,575 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,257 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,870 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,820 and the ninetieth is $60,610 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Maine the take-home figure of $37,996, from $46,870, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 371 of 484 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,132, the adjusted value of that $46,870 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 371 of 484 in the state.
- The Maine median of $46,870 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,820 to $60,610. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Maine is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,996 from $46,870. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 371 of 484 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $39,132 — the adjusted value of that $46,870 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 371 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,820 and the top tenth $60,610, so most people doing this work in Maine sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Maine sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $39,132 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,996 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,820 to $60,610) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $39,132 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 $37,996 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.