Couriers and Messengers in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,739
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$7,021
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,978
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$38,760
Kept after tax
$31,739
Worth in national money
$31,978
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Delaware is 27 of 51 states for couriers and messengers, with a middle wage of $38,760. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Delaware this is lower-paid work. Of 445 occupations the state publishes figures for, couriers and messengers ranks 368. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $38,760, take-home of $31,739 is worth roughly $31,978 in national money. The average comes to $38,920, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Delaware ranks 27 of 51 for couriers and messengers at $38,760. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Delaware reports, couriers and messengers ranks 368 of 445, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for couriers and messengers, whose median is $38,760, the adjusted figure of $31,978 differs little from $31,739 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $38,920 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,810 |
| This salary | $38,760 |
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 Delaware | $31,739 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,324 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,314 |
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 | $36,788 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,799 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of couriers and messengers in Delaware earn under $38,760 and half over. The published range runs $33,960 at the tenth percentile to $46,810 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $31,739 take-home in Delaware comes from $38,760. 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 368 of 445.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,978 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 368.
- Figures are distribution medians for couriers and messengers in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,960 to $46,810; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $31,739, from $38,760, assumes a single Delaware 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 368 of 445 locally, and the state ranks 27 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,978, worked from $38,760, 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 Delaware address, on work sitting at 368 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,960 at the bottom tenth to $46,810 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. Delaware is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $31,978 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 Delaware adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,739 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 ($33,960 to $46,810) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $31,978 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 $31,739 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.