Counter and Rental Clerks in New York
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,456
after federal, FICA and New York tax
Tax takes
$8,814
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,802
New York costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New York — 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
$46,270
Kept after tax
$37,456
Worth in national money
$34,802
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New York pays counter and rental clerks a middle wage of $46,270, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 12.03% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in New York, this one sits low: 407 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $46,270 the take-home is $37,456. But New York costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $34,802 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $50,990, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New York's median for counter and rental clerks is $46,270, about 12.03% above the national figure and 8 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 407 of 493 in New York'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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New York income tax is $37,456 for counter and rental clerks, from $46,270. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,802. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $50,990 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Counter and Rental Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,530 |
| This salary | $46,270 |
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 New York | $37,456 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,358 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,700 |
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 | $43,903 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,893 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,270 as a midpoint for New York, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,190 and the ninetieth is $73,530 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In New York the take-home figure of $37,456, from $46,270, 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 407 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of New York, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,802, the adjusted value of that $46,270 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 407 of 493 in the state.
- The New York median of $46,270 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,190 to $73,530. 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 New York is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,456 from $46,270. 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 407 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New York, so $34,802 — the adjusted value of that $46,270 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 407 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $50,990, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $35,190, the highest tenth $73,530, 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 $34,802 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; New York then takes its own share, leaving $37,456.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 New York is $50,990. 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 ($35,190) and the ninetieth ($73,530) 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?
New York's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $34,802 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 $37,456 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New York 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.