Couriers and Messengers in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,134
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$5,976
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,960
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$36,110
Kept after tax
$30,134
Worth in national money
$32,960
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for couriers and messengers. The middle earner takes $36,110, ranking 43 of 51 states — about 7.88% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Idaho, this one sits low: 429 of 476 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,110 the take-home is $30,134; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,960 would nationally. The average comes to $36,730, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Idaho ranks 43 of 51 for couriers and messengers, with a median of $36,110 — about 7.88% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Couriers and messengers occupies position 429 of 476 in Idaho'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.
- Post-tax income for couriers and messengers in Idaho, on $36,110, is $30,134 — equivalent to $32,960 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $36,730 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,660 |
| This salary | $36,110 |
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 Idaho | $30,134 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,194 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$859 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $34,790 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,039 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 Idaho earn under $36,110 and half over. The published range runs $26,150 at the tenth percentile to $45,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $30,134 take-home in Idaho comes from $36,110. 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 429 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,960 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 429.
- Figures are distribution medians for couriers and messengers in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,150 to $45,660; 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 $30,134, from $36,110, assumes a single Idaho 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 429 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,960, worked from $36,110, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 429 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $26,150 at the tenth percentile, $45,660 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $32,960.
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 Idaho adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,134 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 ($26,150 to $45,660) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $32,960 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 $30,134 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.