Couriers and Messengers in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,133
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$7,007
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,908
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$39,140
Kept after tax
$32,133
Worth in national money
$30,908
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Maryland pays couriers and messengers around $39,140 at the midpoint, 22 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 489 occupations Maryland publishes, couriers and messengers lands at 433. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $39,140 the take-home is $32,133. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $30,908 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $41,210, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For couriers and messengers the Maryland median is $39,140, ranking 22 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Maryland, this work ranks 433 of 489 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $32,133 for couriers and messengers, from $39,140. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,908. ⚠️ 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 $41,210 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: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,850 |
| This salary | $39,140 |
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 Maryland | $32,133 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,629 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,699 |
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 | $37,279 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,473 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $39,140. The published range is $33,850 up to $49,850, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maryland's $32,133, worked from $39,140. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 433 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $30,908, the adjusted value of that $39,140 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 433 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for couriers and messengers in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,850 to $49,850. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maryland take-home of $32,133, on $39,140 for work ranking 433 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 433 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $30,908 — the adjusted value of that $39,140 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 433 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $41,210, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,850 and the top tenth $49,850, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $30,908 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $32,133.
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 Maryland is $41,210. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,850 to $49,850) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,908 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 $32,133 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.