Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,574
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$17,136
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,962
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$80,710
Kept after tax
$63,574
Worth in national money
$71,962
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $80,710, ranking 47 of 51 states — about 16.44% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 484 occupations Louisiana reports, this job comes in at 82 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $80,710 you keep $63,574, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $71,962 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $80,500, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Louisiana ranks 47 of 51 for diagnostic medical sonographers, with a median of $80,710 — about 16.44% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Diagnostic medical sonographers ranks 82 of 484 occupations by median in Louisiana, 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.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for diagnostic medical sonographers on $80,710 is $63,574. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $71,962 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $80,500 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,500 |
| This salary | $80,710 |
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 Louisiana | $63,574 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,609 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,445 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $77,817 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,140 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $80,710 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $62,900 and the ninetieth is $98,500 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $63,574 take-home in Louisiana comes from $80,710. 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 82 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,962 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 82.
- The Louisiana median of $80,710 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $62,900 to $98,500. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $63,574, from $80,710, assumes a single Louisiana 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 82 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,962, worked from $80,710, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 82 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $62,900 at the bottom tenth to $98,500 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $71,962.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $63,574.
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 ($62,900 to $98,500) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $71,962 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 $63,574 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.