Couriers and Messengers in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,072
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$10,098
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,491
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$45,170
Kept after tax
$35,072
Worth in national money
$33,491
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for couriers and messengers is strong here. Oregon's middle earner gets $45,170, putting the state 5 of 51 — about 15.23% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Oregon this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, couriers and messengers ranks 419. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Oregon is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $45,170 the take-home is $35,072; in national-average money that behaves like $33,491. The average comes to $45,440, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For couriers and messengers, Oregon sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $45,170, ranking 5 of 51 and running about 15.23% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Against every occupation Oregon reports, couriers and messengers ranks 419 of 489, 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.
- Take-home for couriers and messengers in Oregon, on $45,170, is $35,072; deflated by the state's price level, $33,491. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $45,440 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 | $35,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,960 |
| This salary | $45,170 |
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 Oregon | $35,072 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,474 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,102 |
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 | $40,936 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,379 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
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 Oregon earn under $45,170 and half over. The published range runs $35,110 at the tenth percentile to $58,960 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $35,072 take-home in Oregon comes from $45,170. 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 419 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,491 uses one figure for the whole of Oregon. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 419.
- Figures are distribution medians for couriers and messengers in Oregon, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,110 to $58,960; 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 $35,072, from $45,170, assumes a single Oregon 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 419 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,491, worked from $45,170, 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 Oregon address, on work sitting at 419 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,110 at the tenth percentile, $58,960 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Oregon run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $33,491 — 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; Oregon then takes its own share, leaving $35,072.
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 ($35,110 to $58,960) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oregon rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $33,491 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 $35,072 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.