Couriers and Messengers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,471
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$5,019
15.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,227
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$33,490
Kept after tax
$28,471
Worth in national money
$32,227
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Louisiana pays couriers and messengers a middle wage of $33,490, 49 of 51 states and about 14.57% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Louisiana this is lower-paid work. Of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, couriers and messengers ranks 416. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $33,490 the take-home is $28,471; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,227 would nationally. The average comes to $33,900, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Louisiana's $33,490 median for couriers and messengers places it 49 of 51 states, about 14.57% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Louisiana reports, couriers and messengers ranks 416 of 484, 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.
- Post-tax income for couriers and messengers in Louisiana, on $33,490, is $28,471 — equivalent to $32,227 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 $33,900 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 | $22,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,630 |
| This salary | $33,490 |
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 Louisiana | $28,471 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,089 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,292 |
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 | $32,720 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,772 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Louisiana earn under $33,490 and half over. The published range runs $22,980 at the tenth percentile to $44,630 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $28,471 take-home in Louisiana comes from $33,490. 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 416 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,227 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 416.
- Figures are distribution medians for couriers and messengers in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $22,980 to $44,630; 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 $28,471, from $33,490, assumes a single Louisiana 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 416 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 49 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,227, worked from $33,490, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 416 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $22,980 at the tenth percentile, $44,630 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,227 in national terms.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $28,471.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,980 to $44,630) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $32,227 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 $28,471 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.