Couriers and Messengers in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,696
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$8,144
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,521
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$42,840
Kept after tax
$34,696
Worth in national money
$36,521
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Utah pays couriers and messengers a middle wage of $42,840, ranking 9 of 51 states and sitting about 9.29% above the national middle.
- Within Utah this is lower-paid work. Of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, couriers and messengers ranks 388. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Utah is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $42,840 the take-home is $34,696; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $36,521 would nationally. The average lands at $42,570, below the middle of the range.
- Utah's median for couriers and messengers is $42,840, about 9.29% above the national figure and 9 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation Utah reports, couriers and messengers ranks 388 of 487, 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 Utah, on $42,840, is $34,696 — equivalent to $36,521 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 $42,570 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,560 |
| This salary | $42,840 |
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 Utah | $34,696 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,602 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,145 |
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 | $40,467 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,385 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
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 Utah earn under $42,840 and half over. The published range runs $36,730 at the tenth percentile to $47,560 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $34,696, worked from $42,840. 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 388 of 487.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,521 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 388.
- Figures are distribution medians for couriers and messengers in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,730 to $47,560; 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.
- The Utah take-home of $34,696, on $42,840 for work ranking 388 of 487 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 388 of 487 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,521, worked from $42,840, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 388 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,730 at the bottom tenth to $47,560 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. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $36,521 in national terms.
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 Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $34,696 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 ($36,730 to $47,560) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $36,521 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 $34,696 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.