Crossing Guards and Flaggers in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,646
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$6,204
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,516
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
$35,850
Kept after tax
$29,646
Worth in national money
$28,516
State rank
29
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Maryland pays crossing guards and flaggers around $35,850 at the midpoint, 29 of 49 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 489 occupations Maryland publishes, crossing guards and flaggers lands at 471. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $35,850 the take-home is $29,646. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,516 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $39,790, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For crossing guards and flaggers the Maryland median is $35,850, ranking 29 of 49 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 471 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 $29,646 for crossing guards and flaggers, from $35,850. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,516. ⚠️ 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 $39,790 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Crossing Guards and Flaggers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,750 |
| This salary | $35,850 |
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 | $29,646 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,985 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,371 |
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 | $34,183 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,076 |
| 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 $35,850. The published range is $31,200 up to $58,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $29,646 take-home in Maryland comes from $35,850. 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 471 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,516 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. 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 471.
- Reported values are medians; for crossing guards and flaggers in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $58,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $29,646, from $35,850, assumes a single Maryland 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 471 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,516, worked from $35,850, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 471 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 $39,790, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $31,200 at the bottom tenth to $58,750 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $28,516 — 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 $29,646.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $39,790. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($31,200) and the ninetieth ($58,750) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $28,516 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 $29,646 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.