Dental Laboratory Technicians in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,896
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$8,034
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,460
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$47,930
Kept after tax
$39,896
Worth in national money
$39,460
State rank
26
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $47,930, ranking 26 of 46 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Arizona reports figures for, this is number 333.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $47,930 the take-home is $39,896, which is worth about $39,460 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $53,610, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona occupies the middle band for dental laboratory technicians: a median of $47,930, ranking 26 of 46. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Arizona's occupational distribution, dental laboratory technicians sits at 333 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for dental laboratory technicians on its $47,930 median: $39,896 retained after tax becomes $39,460 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $53,610 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Dental Laboratory Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,840 |
| This salary | $47,930 |
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 Arizona | $39,896 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,692 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,415 |
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 | $46,940 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,920 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 dental laboratory technicians in Arizona earn under $47,930 and half over. The published range runs $36,530 at the tenth percentile to $77,840 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 Arizona's $39,896, worked from $47,930. 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 333 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,460 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 333.
- Figures are distribution medians for dental laboratory technicians in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,530 to $77,840; 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 Arizona take-home of $39,896, on $47,930 for work ranking 333 of 491 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 333 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,460, worked from $47,930, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 333 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $53,610, 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 $36,530 at the bottom tenth to $77,840 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $39,460 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Arizona's own levy, $39,896 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 Arizona is $53,610. 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 ($36,530) and the ninetieth ($77,840) 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?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $39,460 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 $39,896 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.