Couriers and Messengers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,110
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$5,490
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,210
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$34,600
Kept after tax
$29,110
Worth in national money
$32,210
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for couriers and messengers is on the low side in Nebraska. The middle earner gets $34,600. That is 48 of 51 states, and about 11.73% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 488 occupations Nebraska publishes, couriers and messengers lands at 457. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,600 you keep $29,110, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,210 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,700, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For couriers and messengers, Nebraska sits in the lower band at $34,600, ranking 48 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 11.73%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Nebraska, this work ranks 457 of 488 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.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for couriers and messengers on $34,600 is $29,110. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,210 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $36,700 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,420 |
| This salary | $34,600 |
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 Nebraska | $29,110 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,981 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,358 |
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 | $33,516 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,642 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Nebraska earn less than $34,600. The published range is $28,790 up to $46,420, 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 Nebraska's $29,110, worked from $34,600. 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 457 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,210, the adjusted value of that $34,600 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 457 of 488 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for couriers and messengers in Nebraska the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,790 to $46,420. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Nebraska take-home of $29,110, on $34,600 for work ranking 457 of 488 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 457 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $32,210 — the adjusted value of that $34,600 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 457 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $36,700, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,790 at the bottom tenth to $46,420 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. Nebraska is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,210 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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $29,110.
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 Nebraska is $36,700. 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 ($28,790 to $46,420) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $32,210 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 $29,110 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.