Database Administrators in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$81,945
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$31,115
27.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,788
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$113,060
Kept after tax
$81,945
Worth in national money
$72,788
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays database administrators a middle wage of $113,060, ranking 11 of 51 states and sitting about 8.07% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, database administrators comes in at 98 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $113,060 the take-home is $81,945. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $72,788 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $121,500, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for database administrators is $113,060, about 8.07% above the national figure and 11 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.
- Database administrators ranks 98 of 492 occupations by median in California, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $81,945 for database administrators, from $113,060. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $72,788. ⚠️ 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 $121,500 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Database Administrators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $113,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $178,310 |
| This salary | $113,060 |
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 California | $81,945 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $88,368 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$18,149 |
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 | $103,931 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$25,069 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $113,060 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $62,410 and the ninetieth is $178,310 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $81,945, worked from $113,060. 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 98 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $72,788, the adjusted value of that $113,060 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 98 of 492 in the state.
- The California median of $113,060 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $62,410 to $178,310. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The California take-home of $81,945, on $113,060 for work ranking 98 of 492 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 98 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $72,788 — the adjusted value of that $113,060 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 98 of 492 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 $121,500, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $62,410, the highest tenth $178,310, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $72,788 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $81,945 of this wage survives to your account.
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 California is $121,500. 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 ($62,410) and the ninetieth ($178,310) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $72,788 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 $81,945 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.